


Single by Contract

by krashlynforever



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-11
Updated: 2015-08-06
Packaged: 2018-03-01 01:35:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 21,812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2754668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/krashlynforever/pseuds/krashlynforever
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ashlyn is the lead singer of a newly popular band.<br/>Ali comes back from studying abroad.</p><p>Inspired by a German movie called "Single by Contract" (German title: "Groupies bleiben nicht zum Frühstück").</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Obligations

**Author's Note:**

> So, I had the idea of writing this story a couple of days ago and had to write it down.  
> Updates will take some time, since I am busy with writing my thesis.
> 
> Hope you enjoy it. :)

"Ladies and Gentlemen. We are approaching our destination and will be landing soon. Please put your seat in an upright position and put your tables up."

The captain spoke in perfect English. It had been sometime since Ali had heard speak someone as clear as the captain. The last 3 years she had spent in Germany, where she visited the university. The last time she had visited her parents and her siblings was over a year ago. Ali was excited to see her family again. Her brother Kyle would be waiting for her at the airport. Her parents couldn't come because her dad had to work and her mom was had to pick up Ali's younger sister Syd from school.

As the plane approached the airport Ali could see the city of Los Angeles below her through the window next to her. 'Finally at home' she thought. The plane touched the ground and started decelerating. After landing it took quite some time for the plane to get to its gate. The people were already lining up at the doors long before they opened. Since Ali was seated at the window she waited for everyone else to exit. At the passport control Ali was lucky to be the first in the newly opened lane. The officer called her forward and Ali handed him her passport.

"Welcome home, Miss Krieger." the officer said after looking through her passport and handing it back to her.

"Thank you." Ali said and smiled. She made her way to the baggage claim area to get her bag.

When she exited the closed off area with her bag and walked into the waiting area she looked around for her brother. Kyle had spotted her sister as soon as she walked through the doors and hid from her to surprise her from behind. He jumped at her from behind and yelled.

"Surprise!" Ali was shocked and turned around.

"Ugh, Kyle, do you want to give me a heart attack?" Ali joked.

"Sorry. Hey little Sis. It's good to see you again." he said and gave her a hug.

"It's good to see you, too." Ali answered. "I can't wait to get home and see everyone."

"Don't be surprised if Syd doesn't act like she missed you. All she can think of these days is this new band 'Summer's Wings' and especially the lead singer. Talk about girl crush."

"It can't be that bad, can it?"

"Oh, you have no idea. I am glad that I moved out a long time ago."  Kyle said and took Ali’s bag. "Let's go. Mom is waiting."

 

* * *

 

 

"Hello everybody, how are you doing today?" The crowd screamed. Backstage a blonde, long-haired girl prepared to go on stage. She had agreed to surprise a fan on the TV show of her friend Ellen.

The assistant talked her through the plan, while the show was starting."I'll signal you when you can walk out. Then you sit down on the chair in the middle of the stage. Tara, the girl we want to surprise will play this game blindfolded and won't know that she is alone. Alright?" Ashlyn nodded.

"...Do you know, what's even better than dancing? Dancing together. So we are going to play a round of musical chairs together. Where are Angie Willis and Tara Buck?" Two ladies jumped up and ran down the stairs. Ellen greeted them. "Good to have you here. You both know musical chairs?" the ladies nodded. "Good. To make this even more interesting we are going to blindfold you." Ellen pulled out two goggles.

The ladies put them on and Ellen tested if they were able to see anything. Ellen's assistant signaled Ashlyn to go on stage. The audience was briefed beforehand and did not to scream. Ashlyn sat on the chair and the music started. Tara danced around the chair not knowing that she was the only one in the competition. As soon as the music stopped Tara felt for the chair and slumped into Ashlyn's lap. The audience cheered and Tara ripped off her blindfold. As soon as she saw Ashlyn, she squealed and hugged Ashlyn while still sitting on her lap.

"So Tara, you had a few very difficult years and your friends wrote me and asked if I could help and surprise you." Ellen explained. "I heard that you were a big fan of 'Summer's Wings'. So my friend Ashlyn here agreed to help surprise you." Ashlyn raised her hand. Tara had gotten off of her lap and they were standing next to each other.

"Ellen told me your story and the band and I decided that we want to give you 2 VIP tickets for our first concert here in LA next month, so that you can have a great time." Ashlyn explained.

Tara nodded and thanked Ashlyn, who gave her a hug. Then Tara left the stage with Ellen's assistant and Ashlyn followed Ellen to the chairs.

"It's so good to have you here, Ashlyn. How are the preparations for your tour?"

"It's coming along great. The tour is completely sold out and we are all very excited to finally start. The last tour was amazing and it was a great experience."

"I personally love your songs. And when you sing them live, it seems that you have someone on your mind. Is there someone you are singing them for?"

"Thank you for that compliment, but to answer your question. No, I'm single."

The audience cheered and some 'Ashlyn, I love you's were heard.

They talked for a few more minutes before Ellen said goodbye to Ashlyn and Ashlyn left the stage.

 

Ellen and Portia came by Ashlyn's dressing room after the show was wrapped and invited Ashlyn for dinner when she had time. Soon after Ashlyn was ready to leave. The label had sent a driver and the band manager picked her up.

"This raised your popularity even more. Fans are excited to meet you personally." The band manager said while scrolling through the messages in his phone.

Ashlyn didn't even pay attention. Instead she looked out of the window. She couldn't believe how fast her life had changed within the last 15 months. One hit had made it possible. Her band was popular with lots of different types of fans. Everyone in the band had their groupies, but for being the lead singer Ashlyn could drown in the daily mail. Most of it were autograph wishes, but another huge part were love letters from young women.

Ever since signing with the label, they had to play by their rules. One of them was that all of them were officially single.

At the time she thought it was possible to keep her relationship with her girlfriend, but in the end the restrictions were too much. Her girlfriend didn't like the secrecy and broke up with Ashlyn.

"Hey, are you listening?" the manager suddenly asked.

Ashlyn exited her trance and looked at him. "Mmh? Sorry. What did you say?"

"I said that you have the evening off, but don't stay up too late. The video shoot for the new single will start at 4 in the morning."

"Okay." Ashlyn said and gazed out of the window again.


	2. You don't want a picture?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the great feedback.  
> Next chapter is up. :)

 

Ali and Kyle arrived at their parents’ home an hour after leaving the airport. They got out of the car and walked to the house they grew up in. Kyle had his own apartment in the city, closer to his job. Ali on the other hand would live here again until she found her own place. They walked through the front door and Ali immediately found herself in her mom’s arms.

"Ali, it's so good to see you. How was your flight?" Deb asked her.

"It was okay, bit I am really tired. I won't be able to stay up long today." Ali said as she took off her shoes. "Where is Syd?"

"She is in the living room on the phone with her friend." Ali walked to the living room and saw her little sister.

 

Syd was walking aroud in the living room holding the phone to her ear. "And have you seen her hair? It looked soo good… Yeah, I heard that she will be on Ellen on Monday. … Yes, they recorded the show today. I have to get home before it starts." Ali smiled when she saw her little sister walking around in the living room.

"Hey Syd..." she started but Syd didn't seem to hear her.

Ali coughed once to get her attention.

"Wait a second. My sister wants something." Syd said to her friend and put the phone from her ear to her chest. “What is it?"

"I just wanted to say hi." Ali said

"Okay. Hi." Syd said and turned her attention back to her phone. "She just wanted to say hi."

Kyle stood next to Ali. "Told ya. She is living in her own little world right now."

Ali and Kyle went back into the kitchen and talked with their mom. In the evening their dad came home and they started dinner. Even at the dinner table Syd couldn't stop talking about her favorite band. Everyone was slightly annoyed, but Ali didn't care. She was happy to finally be home again. During dinner her mom told Ali that they had planned to visit some relatives in San Francisco.

“As much as I’d love coming with you, I am fighting with the jetlag. And since I start work on Monday, I don’t think it would be a good idea to come with you.”

“I understand. Don't worry, they'll probably come down for Thanksgiving. And you can see them then.” Deb said and nodded.

“Why does she get to stay at home and I don’t? That’s so unfair.” Syd suddenly asked.

“Well, your sister is old enough to decide on her own. And she has a good reason to stay here, considering she’s starting her first job on Monday.” Deb explained to her younger daughter.

“But I have a reason, too. Summer’s Wings will do a press conference on Sunday. I have to see it.”

“You can watch that when we come back Sunday evening. And you are not old enough to stay here on your own. That’s the last word.” Ken said ending Syd’s rant.

 

The next morning Ali woke up at 6:20am. Since it was a Saturday she decided to take a walk on the beach. She grabbed her jacket and cell phone and left a note on the kitchen counter. Ali walked for a few minutes and found herself at the marina. She could see the Santa Monica Pier in the distance and decided to walk there.

* * *

 

Ashlyn and the band arrived on time at the Santa Monica Pier to shoot the video for their new single. Since it was quite early there were no obnoxious fans and everyone could work efficiently. Due to that they finished earlier than planned and had some more time before their ride to the hotel arrived.

Ashlyn decided to take a walk on the beach. "Hey guys, I will be back in a few minutes. I just want to take a short walk."

"Alright, just don't let Larry catch you." Her bandmates responded.

Ashlyn went down to the beach walked south. The beach was like a second home for her. Growing up in Florida she spent most of her time there surfing and lying in the sun. It changed when her band got picked up by a major label and every second of the day was planned. Even if she found the time to go to the beach, people always recognized her. She looked to the ocean and admired the fading darkness when a woman came to her.

"Excuse me." the dark haired woman said. Ashlyn groaned silently. A fan was the last thing she needed right now. But a story in the tabloids about her rejecting a fan would be worse.

"Alight. I don’t really have time. But we can take one photo." Ashlyn said and leaned towards the woman expecting her to take a photo with a camera.

"Why would I want a picture with you?" The dark-haired woman asked and turned away quickly. She didn't notice that her cell phone fell out of the pocket of her jacket.

"Sorry, I just assumed because..." Ashlyn stammered.

"...because you think you are so irresistible?" The woman laughed and Ashlyn was amazed by her smile.

"Sorry, why did you stop me?" she finally managed to ask.

"I took a walk and my cell phone died. Could you tell me what time it is?"

"Sure, it's 8:32. But that is a watch on your wrist, isn't it? Why'd you ask me?" The woman held up her wrist and showed her watch.

"I just came back from Europe and didn't change the time. Since I always get confused with the time difference, I thought it would be safer to ask someone."

"That makes sense." Ashlyn nodded. "Don't forget to change it." the woman smiled.

"Yeah right. Thanks again. I’m Ali, by the way." Ali smiled. “And you are?” Ashlyn was surprised to hear that question.

“Me? Uhm, I’m Ashlyn." Ashlyn extended her hand. The woman shook her hand.

"Nice to meet you. Well, I've got to go." Ali said and nodded towards the city.

"Me, too." Ashlyn said nodding towards the Pier. Ali smiled and walked away.

 _What was that?_ Ashlyn thought looking after Ali. She shook her head, looked to the ground and saw the cell phone. Ashlyn quickly grabbed it to take it to Ali, but she was long gone. Ashlyn decided to keep it for now and somehow find the dark-haired woman.

She walked back to the pier to return to her band. The band manager was not happy that Ashlyn took a walk on her own, but Ashlyn didn't care.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Ali returned from her walk and found her mom in the kitchen. "Hey Ali, I guess you couldn't sleep anymore?"

"Yeah, I woke up at 5 and decided to take a walk." Ali took off her jacket and felt for her cell phone in her pocket. When she couldn't find it, she frantically searched all pockets. "Damn it. I think I lost my phone."

"Are you sure you had it with you? Do you want me to call your cell?" Deb asked her daughter.

"I am sure I had it with me. And calling won’t work, I had to ask someone for the time, because my phone had died. Urgh."

 

* * *

 

 

The band returned to the hotel and Ashlyn excused herself. She walked to her room and looked for her phone charger. She exchanged the sim card with her own, knowing that she would never guess the correct pin number. Then she plugged Ali's phone in and turned it on hoping to find a clue about its owner.

Luckily the phone numbers were saved on the cell phone and Ashlyn could access them. She looked through the contacts. There were lots of unfamiliar names.

Then the word ‘home’ came up. Ashlyn decided that this would be her best choice. She dialed the number and waited.

After five rings someone picked up.

 

* * *

 

 

Ali was angry about losing her cell phone. Her mom tried to comfort her and made her some breakfast. While she was cooking the phone rang.

"Ali, honey, could you answer that?" Ali walked over to the kitchen counter and grabbed the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hi, is this where a young dark-haired woman named Ali lives?"  Ali was perplexed.

"Yes, this is Ali, who is it?"

 "It's Ashlyn."  Ali remembered her but was confused how she got this number.

"How did you get this number?" Ali asked.

"I got it from your phone. Considering our conversation was too short to identify any names, my best option was 'home'." Ashlyn explained.

"Wait, how exactly did you get my phone? Because I remember having it in my pocket. Did you steal it?" Ali accused her.

"What? No. I saw it lying on the ground. You must have dropped your phone earlier."  

"So you found it." Ali stated.

"That's what I said." Ashlyn replied and they remained silent for a second. "Listen I am only calling, because I thought you might want it back. If you give me your address, I can bring it to you later."

"That would actually be great." Ali felt relieved that her phone was found. "I live in 2337 Clement Ave."

"Alright, I’ll see you later.”

Ali joined her mom in the kitchen again.

“Who was it?” Her mom asked.

“It was the woman I asked for the time on my walk. Apparently I lost my phone on the beach and she found it. She is coming by later to return it.” Ali explained.

“That’s nice of her.”

Ali helped her mom preparing breakfast for the rest of the family. Soon Ken and Syd joined Ali and Deb in the kitchen, although Syd was only physically there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it for now.  
> Have a good weekend everyone! :)


	3. Undercover fishing trip

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It wasn't my intention to make you wait that long, but I hope you guys still had a nice weekend.  
> Thanks again for your great comments. It's a great motivation. :)
> 
> Here is the next chapter... :)

Ashlyn picked up the skateboard by door and put on her beanie and her favorite sunglasses. She left her suite and rode the elevator to the first floor of The Beverly Hills Hotel. The main hall was relatively empty and there were some fans at the front entrance. At the reception Ashlyn pulled a piece of paper out of the back pocket of her pants.

"Uhm, excuse me." she got the attention of the receptionist. "Could you tell me where this is?" She handed the paper over.

"It's an address near the marina."

"Can you tell me how to get there?" The receptionist smiled, motioned Ashlyn to wait and went into the room behind the reception. When he returned he held a navigation device in his hands and handed it over to Ashlyn.

"Here you go. Just return it before you check out."

"Thank you." Ashlyn nodded and turned to leave.

"Maybe you should take the back entrance." the receptionist said and Ashlyn agreed when she realized the amount of fans at the front.

She left the hotel and put her board to the ground to skate to the given address.

 

* * *

 

The Krieger family finished their breakfast and everyone except Ali prepared to leave.

As they left with the car Ashlyn turned into the street. She looked at the numbers and quickly found Ali's house. Ashlyn stopped, picked up her skateboard and talked to the front door.

A couple seconds after she rang the doorbell, Ashlyn heard footsteps and Ali opened the door.

"Hey, it's you." Ali said when she recognized Ashlyn.

"Yeah, I have your phone right here." Ashlyn said and pulled Ali's phone from her pocket to hand it to Ali. Their hands touched shortly and it felt like a spark which caused both of them to freeze in their spot. 

"That’s great.” Ali said when she found her speech again. ‘ _Wow, what was that?’_ Ali thought and added.  “How can I thank you? Can I invite you to lunch?”

 _‘She wants to have lunch with me? No, I shouldn’t. This wouldn’t be good.’_ Ashlyn was torn inside.

“It’s alright.” She finally said. “I’m just glad, that I could bring back your phone. I have to go.” Ashlyn awkwardly turned around and walked away leaving Ali behind.

At the next corner she stopped. ‘ _What did I do? She seemed nice. But what if she knows who I am and just wants to use me?_ ’

“Please turn around.” The navigation device said. Ashlyn smiled and knew what to do. She walked back to the house she came from and rang the doorbell once again.

“Let’s do something together.” She said as soon as the door opened.

Ali was surprised to see Ashlyn again and smiled. _'There is her awesome smile again’._

“Okay. Let’s get some lunch.” Ali proposed again.

“I am not really hungry, how about go somewhere else?” Ashlyn suggested. “I don’t really know the city, maybe you have can show me a nice place.”

“Okay, then how about the Venice Boardwalk?”

“Uhm, too many people.” Ashlyn said silently while contorting her face. Ali sensed her restraint and thought of something else.

“The Walk of Fame? …. The Santa Monica Pier? …Hop-on hop-off Bus tour?” Ashlyn was still unsure about Ali’s suggestions.What if somebody recognized her? Ali didn’t seem to know who she was and it was nice to meet someone who didn’t seek her attention because of her fame.

Then Ashlyn saw a flyer on the small end table next to the door.

“What about a fishing tour?” She suggested. Ali was surprised by Ashlyn’s suggestion, since they weren’t in the target group for fishing tours.

 

Half an hour later they arrived at the marina and luckily one of the boats offered a late tour. As Ali had suggested they were by far the youngest on the boat and almost everyone else had a fishing rod and equipment with them.

“This is a first for me.” Ali said looking around.

“Me, too. Let’s find a place to sit.” They sat down on the upper deck of the boat. The captain came around to collect the fare and Ashlyn motioned that she would pay for the two of them.

“Two tickets, that would be 20$.” The captain said. Ashlyn opened her walled and cursed. She had totally forgotten that her wallet only contained 5$ and her credit cards.

“Uhm, in cash?” She asked and the captain answered in his sailorlike manner. “No, in gold.”

Ashlyn turned to Ali and smiled apologetically. Ali pulled 20$ from her purse and paid.

“Sorry.” Ashlyn said. 

 

The boat left the marina and Ashlyn and Ali watched how the captain maneuvered the boat around the barriers.

“So, what are you doing? You said that you just came back from Europe.” Ashlyn said to start the conversation.

“I was studying abroad in Germany for 3 years. I finished last month and I am starting my first job on Monday.”

“Where do you work?” Ashlyn asked further.

“I got a job as a junior consultant at a marketing firm.”

“Wow, that’s great. How is Germany? Your family must have missed you.”

“Yeah, Germany is awesome. I met a lot of great people there and I hope to visit them again next year. My family was very supporting about me wanting to study abroad. And they surely have missed me as much as I have missed them, even though my little sister doesn’t show it right now.”

“Why is that?”

“She is a huge fan of this new band. What’s the name? ‘Autumn’s Leaves’?” Ashlyn’s heart made a huge jump.

“Did you mean ‘Summer’s Wings’?” She asked.

“Yeah, that was it. I’ve never heard of the band. Apparently they have a very hot lead singer.” Ali continued to talk.

Ashlyn didn’t really know how to respond. ‘ _She really doesn’t know who I am. No one can play this kind of unawareness.’_ She thought and smiled.

“Well enough about me. What do you do for a living?” Ali turned to Ashlyn.

Ashlyn froze. ‘ _What am I supposed to say now? I can’t possibly tell her that I am the hot lead singer. I kinda like her and that might end it before it starts. But lying is worse.’_   Ashlyn debated for a few seconds and decided to tell the truth.

“Actually I am the lead singer of ‘Summer’s Wings’” She finally said and did not expect the reaction Ali showed.

“Yeah, right. And I am a Victoria’s Secret model.” Ali started laughing. Ashlyn couldn’t believe what she heard, but she played along. After all she told Ali the truth and it wasn’t her fault that Ali didn’t believe her.

“Really? I’ve always had a thing for models.” 

“I knew that you had a high self-esteem from the thing you did at the beach. But if you wanted me to call you hot, you could have just asked.” Ali laughed. “Yes, I think you are quite hot. So what do you really do?”

Ashlyn tried a different explanation about her profession as lead singer.

“I write songs and sing them hoping they mean something to people.” She said.

“And apparently you earn no money.” Ali joked referring to the earlier situation where she had to pay for the tickets.

“It’s not what you think…” Ashlyn tried to explain.

“Don’t worry. Luckily for you I have a thing for destitute musicians.” Ali winked at her.

 

The boat returned in the late afternoon. Both Ali and Ashlyn had talked about all kind of things. But now they both wished that they had packed a snack. Their stomachs were growling.

“Hey, how about I cook you some dinner. Since you paid for the fishing trip?” Ashlyn asked hoping to spend some more time with Ali.

“Yeah, that would be great.”

“But I don’t really have a kitchen at my place.” Ashlyn said, which was not a lie. Her suite did have a bedroom and a lounge as well as a bathroom. But a kitchen was nowhere to be found.

“Don’t worry, my destitute musician. We can go back to my place. We have the place for us, my parents and sister visited some relatives. And I think my mom has the kitchen stocked with food.”

They left the marina and made their way back to Ali’s home.

Ashlyn looked through the refrigerator and cabinets in the kitchen and found all of the needed ingredients.

“What are you cooking?” Ali asked.

“I am making you my Grandma’s Mac and Cheese. It’s the best.”

“Alright. Can I help you?”

“No, but you can keep me company.” Ali sat down on bar chair next to the counter and watched Ashlyn prepare the food.

“So, you moved back in with your parents?”

“For now. I plan to get my own apartment. But right now I don’t really have the money. My brother Kyle lives closer to my job, but his apartment is not big enough for both of us.”

“Are you close with your brother?”

“Yes, we are only a year apart. So growing up it was basically us against our parents. Our younger sister was born when we were 11 and 12 years old. So we are not as close.”

“What does your brother do?”

“He is a hair stylist. He is quite popular with some celebrities and has established some contacts. Last month he was booked as a stylist for a music video shoot.”

As Ali told her about her brother Ashlyn remembered the video shoot she had last month. There was indeed a stylist named Kyle. They had quite a good connection from the start. As she looked at Ali she could see the similarities between her and her brother.

 “Do you have any siblings?” Ali asked and pulled Ashlyn out of her thoughts.

“Yes, uhm. I also have an older brother. He is still living in Florida, where I come from. When I was younger, I always wanted to be like my big brother. And he always protected me.”

“Florida is far away. Do you see him regularly?”

“Sadly, no. I have been quite busy and he doesn’t have that much vacation time. But we try to Skype once a week.”

Ashlyn finished her preparations and put the casserole dish in the oven.

“Alright dinner will be ready in 15 minutes.” She said and sat down on the bar chair next to Ali.

They had a great time and talked until midnight. Suddenly the lights went out and they sat in the dark. Ashlyn realized how late it was.

“I really have to leave now.” They saw a bolt and only a few seconds later they heard  the thunder.

“I don’t feel comfortable letting you go right now.” Ali said when she saw the rain pouring. “You can stay over if you want.”

“If that’s ok with you. I’ll take the couch.” Ashlyn said and motioned to the living room.

“The couch is actually very uncomfortable. But if you want you can take my sister’s bed. It is much more comfortable.” Ali suggested.

Ashlyn agreed and they walked upstairs together. The whole house was dark and they held hands to prevent each other from tripping. Ali stopped at the door to her room that was across from her sister’s room.

“Alright. That’s my sister’s room.” She said and pointed behind Ashlyn.

“Sleep well.” Ashlyn said. They stood there awkwardly for a second. Ashlyn didn't want to just turn around and leave. Suddenly Ali decided to lean forward to give Ashlyn a kiss on the cheek. Ashlyn's cheeks turned red immediately.

"Good night.” Ali said and quickly closed the door behind her. She still felt where Ali's lips had touched her cheek. Ashlyn stood in there a few more seconds before she walked into Syd’s dark room and lay down in the bed.

 

* * *

 

 

Around 11am the next morning the door to Ashlyn’s suite opened. Larry, the band manager walked in.

“Ashlyn. Come on, wake up. We have a press conference at 12.” He walked through the lounge area and toward the bedroom. With both hands he slid the double sliding doors open.

“Hey, wake up.” He said opening the curtains. Then he turned to the bed and saw that it was still made.

Ashlyn obviously hadn’t slept in her bed.

Angrily he left the suite and walked into the lobby where the rest of the band was having coffee.

“Where is Ashlyn?” he asked.

They seemed confused about his question. “How should we know? Wasn’t she in her room?”

Larry saw one of the bodyguards waving for him and walked to the reception.

“She asked for an address yesterday. 2337 Clement Ave. The receptionist gave her directions.”

“That’s good. Come on let’s go.” Larry motioned the bodyguard to come with him. 

 

* * *

 

 

At the same time a car parked in the driveway of said the house. Deb, Ken and Syd exited the car. Their trip was cut short, because of the bad weather. They left early in the morning not risking having to drive home during a storm in the afternoon.

Ashlyn and Ali were still asleep in their rooms. Ken and Deb unloaded the car while Syd stormed upstairs into her room. She was happy about the bad weather. That meant that she would be able to see the press conference after all. Syd sat down in front of her computer and waited for it to boot.

Suddenly she heard a faint snoring behind her. She turned thinking that Ali had accidentally slept in her bed.

She walked closer. Only the person’s head was poking out under her ‘Summer’s Wings’ blanket, that had a print of Ashlyn’s body on it. But it wasn’t Ali’s head that was lying on the matching pillow with Ashlyn’s head printed on it.

Syd took a closer look and couldn’t believe her eyes. She took the teen magazine that was lying on her night stand and held it next to the person in her bed.

She was sure that it was her idol Ashlyn and screamed. That startled Ashlyn and she woke up screaming as well. Ashlyn didn’t know where she was and looked around in the room. She was looking at herself on every wall of the room. It caused her to scream even louder. Everywhere she looked were multiple posters and pictures of the band.

Then she looked down and was even more horrified, because she recognized the part of the merchandize she had made fun of when Larry had presented it: the life-size print of her on a blanket and pillow case.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me what you think. :)


	4. Scares and Councelling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I am sorry for taking soo long with this update. As usual life got in the way.  
> For the future I will update once a week. Updates inbetween will be a bonus.
> 
> Second of all, thank you for your comments. I enjoy reading your feedback and it's great that you are thrilled to read the next chapters. You guys are great!

When Ali woke up and turned to her bedside clock. 11:14am. Last night she fell asleep like a stone. _'Last night.'_ Ali remembered last night and smiled. She never imagined having such a great time with a stranger.

She and Ashlyn seemed to be on the same page from the start. Ali slowly sat up and stretched. She hoped that Ashlyn wasn't already gone so that they could have some breakfast.

Then she heard a high pitched scream followed by another scream. She jumped out of her bed and rushed to her door. As she had suspected the screams came from her sister's room.

* * *

As soon as Ashlyn realized the situation she was in she jumped out of bed. She grabbed her jeans from the chair and quickly put it on causing her to stumble around. The young girl had taken out her cell phone and started taking pictures. Ashlyn rushed to the door and crashed into Ali who came to see what was going on. They fell onto the floor.

"Sorry." Ashlyn said and helped Ali up.

"What is going on?" Ali asked but Ashlyn didn't answer.

"I have to go. Sorry about this."

Ashlyn ran down the stairs where she met Ken and Deb. They had heard her younger daughter scream as well and came in to check on her.

"Who the hell are you?" Ken asked Ashlyn. Syd and Ali came down the stairs.

"Dad, this is Ashlyn. She stayed here last night because of the bad weather." Ali explained.

Syd still had her cell phone out and filmed the whole thing. Ashlyn tried to hide her face by holding her hand in front of Syd's cell phone, but it didn't work.

"I am sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." Ashlyn said when the doorbell rang.

Ken opened the door and saw two men in black suits standing in front of him.

"Alright, the FBI is here." he said sarcastically. One of them peeked into the lobby and saw Ashlyn.

"Ashlyn, there you are. We have been looking for you. You have a press conference in 40 minutes. What the hell were you thinking? Come on. Let's go." Larry said and motioned for Ashlyn to come with her.

Ali watched the whole thing and was confused. _'Press conference? What is going on here?'_ Ashlyn turned around before she walked out the door. She saw the confusion on Ali's face and wanted to say something but Larry dragged her to the car.

 

Ken looked at his wife hoping she had an explanation for the whole thing but Deb only shrugged with her shoulders.

"Okay, can at least one of you explain to me what went on here?" Ken asked his daughters.

"Dad, that was Ashlyn." Syd started.

"Yes I got that much." Ken answered impatiently.

"No, you don't understand. That was Ashlyn from 'Summer's Wings'! She was here! In my room! She slept in my bed!" Syd's voice cracked as she hit the higher pitches. Ali's yaw dropped to the floor. _'Ashlyn really was who she said.'_

"She looked even better than on TV!" Syd was close to hyperventillate.

Deb turned to her older daughter. "I know you are old enough to do whatever you want. But could you please explain what "Ashlyn from 'Summer's Wings'" was doing in this house. Let alone in your sister's room." she asked making quotation marks with her fingers.

Ali was stunned by the whole situation.

"I ... I didn't know." Ali stammered.

* * *

Ashlyn felt awful not being able to explain everything to Ali. Clearly Ali had been surprised by the fact that Ashlyn really was the lead singer.

She looked out the window. Larry was once again talking to her.

"What were you thinking? Staying at some girl's house doing god knows what. Do you know what the press would do if they found out? What if that girl goes to the press and tells them everything? Have you thought about that?" Larry was angry.

Ashlyn figured the best way to shut him up was to just let him talk. "You have a contract, Ashlyn. And it says that you are single. So, no more sneaking around, do you hear me? We have too much to lose."

* * *

 

At the Krieger residence Ali walked upstairs to her room. Syd was following her demanding answers about how she knew Ashlyn. Ali entered her room and closed the door in Syd's face.

She needed to talk to Ashlyn but without any contact information she didn't have a chance.

 _'Maybe Kyle can help me.'_ Ali thought, took her cell phone and dialed the number of her brother.

He picked up after a few rings.

"Hello?"

"Hey, do you have time?" Ali simply asked. Kyle heard that Ali was upset and didn't hesitate to invite her over.

"You know I always have time for you."

"Ok, I'll be at your place in 30 minutes."

Ali hung up and left the house.

 

 

Ali arrived at Kyle's apartment and he let her in.

He led her to the living room and poured them each a cup of coffee.

"What's up B? Is Syd getting on your nerves already?" Kyle asked as he sat down next to Ali and handed her a cup.

"It's complicated." Ali sighed. "I met someone and we spent the day together yesterday and she spent the night because of the bad weather." Kyle looked at her with his eyed wide open. Ali recognized that look and quickly added. "Not like you think. I told her to sleep in Syd's room, because the couch is awful. For the first time in months I completely forgot about "her", you know?"

"So what's the problem?"

"As it turns out she is the lead singer of 'Summer's Wings'." Kyle's jaw dropped. "Yeah, that's the look I had this morning. Mom, Dad and Syd came back early because of the weather. And Syd had a screaming match in her room with Ashlyn. Ashlyn bolted and then her agent or whoever even came to the house to pick her up." Ali took a deep breath. "The worst thing is that I don't know how to reach her to talk with her."

Kyle sat next completely motion- and speechless next to her.

"Say something, please." Ali couldn't stand the silence.

"I don't really know what to say right now, B." Kyle tried to find the right words. "How exactly did you two meet? One doesn't just spend the day with a rock star when they feel like it."

"Yesterday morning I took a walk on the beach, because I couldn't sleep. My phone had died and my watch was still on European time. So I walked up to Ashlyn and I asked her for the time. She was taking a walk alone on the beach." Ali thought back to the moment and suddenly everything made sense. She chuckled a little. "She thought I wanted a picture with her. Somehow my phone ended up in the sand. Later she called the house to get my address to return it."

"So you can't call her back, thanks to the extremely old phone without caller id recognition at home. You had no idea who she was?" Ali shook her head. "You haven't been in Syd's room since you came back?" Ali raised her eyebrows and slowly shook her head a second time.

"Why?"

"You should see for yourself when you get back."

 _'It can't be that bad, can it?'_ Ali thought knowing that the last time she had said those words out loud, she had been wrong.

 

* * *

 

 

Ashlyn arrived in the lobby of the hotel. Her bandmates got up when they saw her.

"Where have you been?" Whitney, the guitarist of the band, asked her.

"I'll tell you later." Ashlyn simply said.

She quickly changed in her room and made herself presentable for the press conference.

Due to her absence the press conference started 30 minutes later. Of course the journalists asked for a reason, but Larry made up some excuse.

As always the question about Ashlyn's love life was asked. And as always she replied the same way. "No, I am still waiting for my soulmate and until then I want to concentrate on my music." 

But this time it felt weird to her saying those words. Ali woke something in her. They instantly had a connection what Ashlyn hadn’t experienced in a long time.

An hour later they were released and Whitney shot Ashlyn a look. Ashlyn knew that it meant she wanted to talk to her. Whitney was one of the few people that understood Ashlyn. They had been friends since middle school and had started the band.

 

The band had some free time before their next appointment. So Whitney and Ashlyn returned to Whitney's suite.

Arriving there, Ashlyn flopped down on the couch letting her feet dangle over the armrest.

"Alright, talk." Whitney urged her. "Where have you been since yesterday?"

Ashlyn exhaled loudly. "I met a girl and she is so different from anyone else." Ashlyn stated.

"How did you meet?" Whitney asked and Ashlyn started explaining every moment with Ali. Ashlyn spent nearly ten minutes describing Ali's beauty, especially her smile. Whitney knew her friend well enough to notice that it was serious. The last year, she had watched her friend suffer from the breakup with her girlfriend Julia. They had been together since sophomore year and had even talked about getting married.

The breakup threw Ashlyn's world upside down and Ashlyn withdrew herself increasingly.

The Ashlyn that was with her right now was completely different.

 

"Have you called her to talk to her?" Whitney asked when Ashlyn finished.

"That's a good idea. But I only have her home number." Ashlyn said and immediately dialed he number.

"It's worth a try, maybe she is sitting by the phone waiting for you to call her."

After a few rings someone picked up.

"Hello?"

Ashlyn was startled when she recognized the high pitched voice that woke her up this morning. She quickly ended the call without making a noise. The last thing she needed was a teenage fan getting her number.

"It was her sister." She told Whitney.

"Oh, the sister that is completely in love with you?" Whitney asked and laughed.

"Oh, shut up."

* * *

Ali and Kyle decided to go to lunch together at their favorite diner.

"You know, I met Ashlyn once, when I had that job at the video shoot. She seemed very nice and very down-to-earth." 

"Yeah, she didn't really act like a rock star. That's why I didn't believe her when she told me."

"I might have an idea how you could meet her again." Kyle suddenly said and pulled out his smartphone.

"What are you doing?"

"After I met her at that job, she promised to come by the salon."

"Are going to summon her here with your phone?" Ali asked sarcastically.

"Haha, very funny." kyle faked a laugh. "She also started following me on twitter."


	5. The Messenger

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, Happy New Year!
> 
> Sorry it took so long. Spending Chrismas and New Years at home with my family has not been benefical regarding writing and updating.
> 
> And to add to that I had to start my year with half a tooth less and appointments with my dentist.
> 
> But I have some pretty good ideas to continue and you can expect some great chapters. 
> 
> Please enjoy:)
> 
> And also thanks for your comments.

 

* * *

 

 

Ashlyn scrolled through the comments of the posted link to the press conference on her twitter account.

Most of them were from fans saying how much they loved her, or how they couldn't wait for the tour to begin. Suddenly something caught her eye. It was a comment.

 

 **@kylekriegerhair** : **@summerswingsash** Who was your stylist for this? Come by next time for a better job. ;P #itbetterwasforfree

 

 _‘How could I forget that?‘_ Ashlyn asked herself. She still sat Whitney’s couch and thought about what to do. Tweeting Kyle back would definitely cause too much attention. But maybe she could get to the salon and give Kyle a message for Ali.

 _‘That should work.’_   She was too engrossed in her thoughts, that she didn’t notice her own smile. Whitney on the other hand did.

“What’s up with you?” she asked pulling Ashlyn out of her thoughts. Ashlyn turned her attention to Whitney.

“I know what to do.” She started and got up from the couch. “Her brother is that hair stylist that was at the shoot a couple of weeks ago. I will contact him and give him a message for Ali.”

“Are you sure? What if she hasn’t told him about you? How would you justify your need to talk to Ali?”

“Ali told me that they are very close and thinking about this, she probably is with him right now.” Ashlyn suddenly felt excitement rushing through her veins. She looked back at her phone and favorite Kyle’s tweet. _‘That shouldn’t draw too much attention.’_

Now she only needed a plan to get away from the hotel unnoticed, especially now since Larry monitored her like a hawk.  Ashlyn looked through the schedule for the next week and sighed. She was booked for interviews and TV shows every day. This was not going to be easy.

 

* * *

 

Ali and Kyle took a walk. The beach was full of debris from the storm and there were people everywhere to clean it up.

“How come Syd doesn’t know about you being the stylist for Summer’s Wings?”

“I love my job way too much? She probably would have bugged me forever and told all of her friends. They would have stalked me and camped out at the salon, which would have probably cost me my job there.”

Ali smiled. “Well, considering she is following every move on twitter, this might just happen now.”

“I just hope that my tweet vanishes between all the ‘I love you’s and ‘Marry me’s.”

“What exactly did you tweet again?” Ali asked.

Kyle showed her his phone when it made a noise. Ali saw a notification that made her heart jump.

 

 **@summerswingsash** favorited your tweet

 

“It looks like she got the hint.” Kyle grinned at Ali and earned himself a light smack on the arm.

 

* * *

 

 

Ali made it home shortly before dinner. Syd had calmed down a bit after Ken had threatened to take away her cell phone and computer privileges, if she continued to get on everybody’s nerves.

Deb was in the kitchen and preparing dinner, so Ali decided to join her.

“Hey honey. Where have you been?” she asked her oldest daughter.

“I was at Kyle’s. Sorry that I just left, but I needed some time to think. I am sorry, I didn’t mean to cause such trouble.”

“I understand. Don’t worry. You did nothing wrong. We were just a little surprised by your guest.” Deb said stressing the last word of the sentence.

Ali sighed.

 

After dinner Ali soon went to bed. After all tomorrow was going to be her first day and she needed to be fit and awake.

Lying down in bed she had trouble falling asleep. Her thoughts turned around Ashlyn.

 

* * *

 

The next morning Ali woke up at 7am and got up to make some coffee. She had to be at work at 9am, so she slowly got dressed and returned to the kitchen to enjoy her coffee.

On her way to work she tried to focus, but her thoughts always drifted back to Ashlyn and the possibility that she was going to come to Kyle’s salon.

Ali arrived on time and took the elevator upstairs. At the front desk she was greeted by a middle-aged man in a grey suit. It was the one who interviewed her for the job and had introduced himself as John Carter.

“Good morning, Miss Krieger. How are you?”

“Good morning. Thank you I am fine.”

“Did you have trouble finding your way here?” Ali had never been in this building since the interview took place via Skype.

“No, not at all.” Ali smiled and was led into the large open space office. The desks were mostly separated by plants.

“Alright, let’s introduce you to the team before we actually get to our daily business.” Ali’s boss led her into the meeting room that was filled with her future colleagues. “Listen up; I would like to introduce the new junior marketing specialist we hired last month. This is Alexandra Krieger, she finished her degree in Germany and we were lucky to get her to work here.”

Everyone looked at Ali and Ali smiled.

“Hello, I am excited to start working here and to get to know everyone.” A few people nodded, mostly the younger ones, and smiled back.

“Alright, Now that we established that. Let’s start our meeting. Miss Krieger, you can take a seat next to Miss Grant there.” Ali nodded and made her way over to the empty chair.

“Hey, I’m Katy Grant. Just call me Katy.”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Ali.” They shook hands and then turned their attention back to their boss.

 

* * *

 

Ashlyn woke up by her ringing phone. She lifted her head to see who was calling her.

‘Ugh, Larry.’ She thought and slowly reached over to answer her cell phone.

“What’s up Larry?”

“Good, you are up. You have to get ready the interview you had this afternoon will be in 2 hours, because we have scheduled another one for this afternoon.”

“Alright, I’ll be right down.” Ashlyn groaned. Her plan to get to the salon first thing this morning was crushed.

She slowly got up and got ready. Then it dawned upon her. She was the only one of the band to go to this interview.

Ashlyn quickly got dressed and walked over to Whitney’s room. After a few knocks the door opened and Whitney appeared in the doorway.

“What’s up?” she asked sleepy.

“I have an interview this morning and I originally wanted to go to the salon. But I can’t make it. I was thinking maybe you could go there and drop off this message.” Ashlyn held an envelope in her hands.

“Whitney looked at her for a few seconds, trying to comprehend what she had just heard. "Please?” Ashlyn pleaded.

“Alright, I’ll do it. But only because you are my best friend.” Ashlyn fist pumped. “And you owe me.” Whitney added.

“Thanks, you are the best. I’ve got to go. Larry is waiting.” Ashlyn gave Whitney a kiss on the cheek and disappeared.

Whitney smiled at her friend. It had been a long time since she had seen her that happy.

 

* * *

 

The meeting finished and Ali stayed to have a talk with her boss.

“So Miss Krieger, as I said during the meeting, you will work together with Miss Grant to get the hang of our daily business. And in a few weeks we can discuss you handling your own tasks. Alright?”

“Sounds good to me.” Ali nodded. Her boss left the room and Ali made it to her desk.

Katy was already waiting for her.

“Are you ready to start?” She asked smiling.

“Sure.”

“Alright, do you know Sennheiser?”

“Yeah, they make headsets and microphones, right?”

“That’s correct. They want to attract a younger audience and are looking for proper advertising. So we will try to find the perfect idea to rock the proposal.”

 

* * *

 

Whitney left the hotel in a taxi and told the driver to bring her to Kyle’s hair salon.

About 20 minutes later she arrived at the salon and paid her fare with a tip for the driver.

She walked through the front door of the shop and waited at the front desk. A blonde, clean-shaven man came to the desk.

“Hello, how may I help you?” Whitney took off her sunglasses. 

“Hey, I am looking for a Kyle. Is he here?” she asked smiling.

“Are you sure I can’t help you?” He asked Whitney whit a hint of flirtation in his voice.

“Sorry buddy, but unless you are Kyle Krieger, you cannot help me.” Whitney answered annoyed.

“Sure, wait a second, please.” The young man turned around and yelled to the back. “KYLE!”

A second later they heard a voice from behind the curtain in the back. “What?” Another man appeared from behind the curtain. “You don’t have to yell.”

“Uhm, there’s a woman waiting at the front desk. She’s been asking for you.” The blonde man said.

“Hello, I am Kyle. You’ve been asking for me?” the man turned to Whitney.

“Yes indeed. A friend of mine sent me to deliver something for you to deliver to someone else.” Whitney said and looked over to the blond guy, who was still standing there. Kyle followed her gaze and send the other guy away with a nod of his head.

Then he turned back to Whitney.

“Sorry, I was told to be as discrete as possible. Ashlyn send me to give this to you to give to your sister.” She handed Ashlyn’s letter to Kyle.

“Oh, right. You are in the band as well, right? We met shortly at the photo shoot.” Kyle remembered her.

“Yes, we did.”

“That’s great. But why are you here instead of Ashlyn?”

“Our band manager kind of has her on a short leash after what happened yesterday. And she has loads of interviews and public appearances this week.”

“Right.” Kyle nodded. “Well my sister will be happy to receive this.”

“That’s great. Well, I’ve got to go. Nice to meet you.” Whitney said as she walked out the front door.

“Yeah, nice to meet you, too.”

Kyle looked at the envelope and smiled when he saw the neatly written letters on it.

_‘Ali’_

 

* * *

 

Ali and Katy were in the middle of gathering ideas. The already had a few good ones, but anything they came up with recently was crap.

“Ugh, I don’t think we are very productive right now. How about a lunch break?” Katy asked.

Ali looked at her watch. It was already 2pm and they’ve been brainstorming for the last 3 hours.

“Yes, that’s a good idea.”

“Alright, then let’s go.” They their purses and left the office.

Katy showed Ali an Italian restaurant close to the office. After ordering the food their conversation turned a little more personal. Katy talked about her hometown and how she came to LA.

“I mean, it’s just great here. The people are so open-minded and social. The first month I got here, I went to the Abbey on Sunday. And I met my best friends that day. They were enjoying the day and invited me to sit at their table when they saw that I came alone. Do you know the Abbey?” Ali wasn’t sure how to respond to that. 

That moment the waiter came with their food. Ali waited until he was gone.

“Yes, I always thought it was a ...”

“A popular hangout for lesbians?” Katy ended her thoughts. Ali blushed and nodded.

“Well, I hope so, because I met my current girlfriend there as well.” Katy laughed.

“Oh. I didn’t expect that.” Ali laughed.

“I hope that’s not a problem for you?”

“No, not at all.”

“Good. How about you? Are you seeing anyone?” Ali shook her head. “I noticed you were looking on your phone quite often.”

“No, neither. But I met someone. And... Actually that’s quite difficult to explain.”

“No problem. I’ll keep my fingers crossed that it works out with him.” Katy winked.

“Her, actually.” Ali corrected her.

“Oops, now I really out my foot in it.” Katy laughed.

They ate their lunch and decided to get back to work.

 

* * *

 

In the evening Kyle came by the Krieger residence. Ken and Deb were excited to hear about their daughter’s first day.

Ali came home at 7pm, just in time for dinner. She told them about her first day and her colleagues.

After dinner Kyle took her aside.

“Did she come to the salon?” Ali asked him excited.

“No.” He told her with a serious face and Ali’s smile faded quickly. She had been sure that Ashlyn was going to come to the store.

“But she send someone to deliver this envelope.” Kyle pulled the envelope with Ali’s name neatly written on the front and handed it to Ali.


	6. Catching up on Breakfast

Ali held the letter in her hand and brushed over her name with her thumb.

“Thanks.”

“Alright, B. I gotta go. Call me, alright?” Kyle said and gave Ali a hug. While he said goodbye to his parents and Syd, Ali went upstairs to her room.

She closed the door and sat on the bed before slowly opening the envelope. The paper inside was just as fancy as the envelope.

She carefully read the note.

 

_Ali,_

_I am sorry about everything that happened on Sunday. That was not a moment of glory for me. I enjoyed spending the day and evening with you on Saturday. You made me feel like a person whose everyday life doesn’t include running from screaming teenagers and vicious paparazzi. That hasn’t happened in a while. And I would love to do that again. So I would love to hear from you._

_Ashlyn_

_P.S.: My number 321-555-0154_

Ali read the letter once more. Then she took out her cell phone, saved Ashlyn’s number and sent her a text.

 

**Ali: I would love to meet you again :). Don’t worry about yesterday. Ali**

 

After sending the text Ali put the phone on her nightstand laid down with a smile. Seconds later she received an answer.

 

* * *

 

 

Ashlyn closed the door to her room. She spend the whole day with Larry and was exhausted from all the interviews. Whitney had texted her after delivering the envelope, which had slightly raised Ashlyn’s mood. She sat down on the couch, turned on her TV and zapped through the channels until she found the sports channel that was currently showing a game of the women’s national soccer team against Germany.

20 minutes into the game her phone beeped, notifying her of a new text.

 

  **Ali: I would love to meet you again :). Don’t worry about yesterday. Ali**

 

Ashlyn quickly typed out an answer and saved Ali’s number.

 

**Ashlyn: I am glad that you got my message and that I didn’t scare you away. ;)**

**Ali: Thanks to my brother for tweeting you.**

**Ashlyn: Well, I would have remembered him at some point.**

**Ali: Sure ;P How was your day. Kyle told me that your friend dropped the note off.**

**Ashlyn: It was pretty busy, lots of interviews. Are you busy right now? I’d love to hear your voice.**

**Ali: No, I’m not busy. :)**

 

Ashlyn smiled and immediately dialed Ali’s number. After one ring she heard Ali pick up.

 

“Hey.”

“Hey, it’s good to hear you.” Ashlyn said.

“Yeah.” Neither of them spoke for a few seconds and Ashlyn thought about how to interrupt the uncomfortable silence.

“So, uhm, how was your first day at work? You started today, didn’t you?”

“Yes, I did.” Ali was surprised that Ashlyn had remembered. “It was great. I met all of my colleagues. One of them is helping me get to know the daily business for the next few weeks.”

“That sounds great.”

They talked for almost 3 hours until Ashlyn heard Ali yawn for the third time in five minutes. She promised to call Ali again at the same time tomorrow and they ended the call.

 

Ashlyn walked to the bedroom of her suite and sprawled out on top of her bed.

 

* * *

 

Ali was woken up by her alarm at 6am. Staying up late and talking with Ashlyn had taken its toll. But Ali didn't care, it was worth it.

She made it to work earlier than the day before. In the elevator she met Katy, who immediately noticed her smile.

"Well someone is in a good mood."

They entered the office together and got back to their project.

 

* * *

 

Throughout the next couple of days Ashlyn and Ali texted back and forth, playing a game of 20 Questions.

Ali learned about Ashlyn's hobbies (surfing and soccer), her favorite meal (macaroni and cheese made by her grandmother) and that despite the fact that her clothes always looked very color-coordinated, she was actually colorblind and usually had her friend check her color selection before she went to important meetings.

 

Ashlyn was in a better mood and everyone around her noticed it. In interviews she blamed it on her excitement for the new tour and all of them bought it. Only Whitney knew the real reason.

In the evenings they usually talked for at least 2 hours on the phone. The mornings became even harder for Ali, but the excitement to talk to Ashlyn the next day let her forget that. Nevertheless Ali was happy about the upcoming weekend and a possibility to sleep a little longer. 

At 8:30 when she usually sat at her desk at work Ali was still sleeping peacefully in her bed. She heard a noise and her brain placed it into her current dream.

She was presenting the concept for a new project in front of her customer. Her boss was sitting there as well. As she spoke he tapped with his index finger against his to-go coffee cup.

_Tap. Tap._

Ali got nervous, since her colleague had told her that this was their boss' usual sign for disappointment.

_Tap. Tap._

Ali tried to talk, but every time she opened her mouth no words came out.

She struggled and woke up from this dream.

_Tap. Tap._

"The noise" she whispered as she realized that it hadn't come from her dream.

She listened closely to determine where it came from.

_Tap Tap._

_'The window_ ' Ali thought and got out of bed to check.

As she got closer to the window, a familiar person appeared below her window. It was Ashlyn who was throwing pebbles against the glass. When she saw Ali appear in the window she smiled and waved. Ali opened her window.

"What are you doing here?" she asked

Ashlyn held up a paper bag and two to go cups.

"I thought we could have breakfast together since we had no chance last week." Ashlyn explained.

"I'd love to. Wait a second, I'll just get dressed. I'll be down in a second."

Ali quickly threw on a pair of jeans and a shirt and fixed her hair in the bathroom mirror

Then she went downstairs. Her parents and her sister were still sleeping, since it was common for them to have breakfast around 9:30 on the weekends.

Ali quickly wrote a note informing her mom that she was already gone.

 

* * *

 

In front of the door she found Ashlyn sitting on the curb watching a squirel. She was dressed very casual with a plaid button-up shirt, a dark blue jeans, her beanie and sunglasses. Only the skateboard was missing.

"Good morning. How did you get in here? The gate is closed." Ali said and got Ashlyn's attention. Ashlyn immediately got on her feet and walked towards Ali.

"Good morning to you, too." Ashlyn greeted Ali back. "I climbed over the fence. " she responded and motioned to the wide-meshed fence before she moved in to give Ali a hug. Ali's scent mesmerized Ashlyn and she reluctantly let her go after a few seconds.

“Well you are lucky that my dad hasn’t gotten the guard dog yet he always talked about.” Ali winked at Ashlyn.

"Lucky me. I thought we could go to the Venice beach and find a place to sit somewhere around there."

"Yes, that sounds great." Ashlyn smiled and grabbed the breakfast she had brought with her.

"Alright, then let's go."

"Can I help you carry this?" Ali asked and motioned towards the food. Ashlyn was carrying the drinks in one hand and a huge paper bag in the other.

"Well, if you want you can take the beverages." Ashlyn handed them to Ali. "But be careful, they are hot. Just like you." Ali blushed at Ashlyn's words.

They walked to the beach and quickly found a bench to sit on. Ashlyn took off her sunglasses, opened the paper bag and revealed the food. 

"Let's see. I've got scrambled eggs with bacon, chocolate chip and blueberry pancakes and a bottle of freshly made orange juice." Ashlyn set the boxes on the bench between them.

"Wow, that's a lot."

"Yeah I was not sure what you liked and decided to get a few things."

“This is awesome.”

They each took some scrambled eggs and ate the pancakes afterwards and enjoyed the freshly made orange juice. Ashlyn had even gotten the right rind of coffee for her, black with one cube of sugar. Ali was impressed that she had memorized this from one of their phone calls. While they ate Ali talked about her first week at the office and the slightly awkward lunch conversation with her coworker Katy which made Ashlyn laugh.

 

“So, you are not busy today?” Ali asked after they had finished their breakfast.

“No, today I am actually free and was able to escape my ‘babysitter’. After last Sunday Larry has been practically watching me every second of the day.”

This woke Ali’s curiosity.

“What’s the deal with him?”

“He was really pissed that I almost missed the press conference and actually enjoyed my free day.” Ashlyn sighed. “The thing is that my contract with the label states that officially I have to be single. And Larry’s afraid that I might jeopardize the band's career with an article in the tabloids.”

“Wow, that’s huge.” Ali was surprised to hear that and started thinking that Ashlyn might not be as interested in her as she was in Ashlyn.

“At first I thought I can deal with that and just be very secretive about my private life.”

“Did that work?”

“Not really. My longtime girlfriend at the time played along at first. But I was afraid to even hold her hand in public. In the end she broke up because she couldn’t deal with the secrecy anymore.”

“That must have been hard.”

Ashlyn sighed at the memory. “Looking back I can totally understand her.”

“Living in secrecy is just crazy. I mean only to please the fans?”

“Yeah, at the moment I had no choice. It was either make music for a large audience and be single or be open about my relationship and struggle to pay rent. It wasn’t just about me. I couldn’t just leave the band hanging; they deserve this just as much as me.” Ashlyn looked towards the ocean.

“You are a good person, you know that. Cutting back on your own privileges to help your friends.”  Ali said and put her hand on Ashlyn’s shoulder.

 “The good thing is that our contract with the label will be renegotiated after the tour and I will definitely try to get that clause of the contract erased. Now that I have some leverage.” Ashlyn turned back to face Ali. Her brown eyes mesmerized her. The perspective that Ashlyn was willing to fight against the clause in her contract made Ali gain soemn hope. “Look, I know we’ve only known each other for a week. And I don’t really know what this is between us. But to be honest I already like you way too much to do something like that to you.” Ashlyn smiled and raised her hand to brush over Ali’s cheek. Ali's heart jumped as she realized the meaning of Ashlyn's words.

Ali leaned into Ashlyn’s hand craving her touch while holding eye contact. She raised her hand as well and put it on Ashlyn’s neck brushing with her thumb over Ashlyn’s jaw.

“It crazy, we’ve known each other for a week and I already feel like I’ve known you forever.” Ali whispered. Her gaze shortly dropped from Ashlyn’s eyes to her lips.

That gave Ashlyn the courage to lean forward and close the gap. She leaned forward and their lips met.

 

Due to the distance to the parking cars they didn’t hear the faint clicking sound that came from behind a car.


	7. Misused Trust Pt. 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is ready. It's so long that I am dividing it into 2 chapters.

** _Mid June_ **

  

“You know, I really thought you were different, Alexandra.” Ashlyn said as she fought against the tears. “But it seems that you are just like everyone else, wrapping me around your finger, just to get a few minutes of fame.”

“No, Ash. That’s not true. I have no idea how the press got a hold of those pictures…” Ali started, but Ashlyn cut her off.

“Yeah, right. You have NO idea. Pictures YOU took with YOUR cell phone. Who else do you think could have sent them to the press? Huh. Even if someone else got a hand on these, it doesn’t explain the interview you gave them!”

Ali opened her mouth but couldn’t find any words to explain the situation. Ashlyn was angry. For the first time since the breakup with her girlfriend she had let someone in her life again, only to realize that she had been used.

“I never want to see you again. Don’t think about contacting me or I’ll call the police.” Ashlyn turned and left Ali’s apartment as quickly as possible and got into the cab that was waiting for her in front of the house to take her back to the airport. Ali was still in shock about what had happened and was unable to move.

 

* * *

 

_FLASHBACK_

** _Mid-May_ **

_Their first kiss seemed to last forever. After their lips parted they remained close to each other. Both of them had a smile on their face. Ashlyn caressed Ali’s cheek._

_“Wow.” Ali whispered when she was able to think clearly again._

_“Yeah.” Ashlyn responded. Ali leaned in and captured Ashlyn’s lips in a second kiss, which was a little more physical than the first one._

_After a few more minutes and a few more kisses they were interrupted by Ashlyn’s cell phone. Ashlyn grunted. “Sorry, I have to get that.” She excused herself and Ali gave her some space._

_“Hello?” Ashlyn answered the phone. “It’s my free day and I was getting some breakfast.” She rolled her eyes. “Yes, I will remember that… Yeah, mmh… Okay. Bye.”_

_Ashlyn ended the call and put her cell phone back into her pocket._

_“Sorry about this. That was Larry.”_

_“He is really annoying.” Ali said which caused Ashlyn to laugh._

_After Larry’s call they decided to take a cab and go to the Edward Vincent Junior Park to watch the people play soccer and basketball. As imagined there were lots of people playing all sorts of games._

_Ali and Ashlyn found a tree to sit under and watched the events. Ali sat next to Ashlyn who had her arm around Ali’s shoulder._

_Around noon a few girls approached them and asked if they were interested in joining their soccer game, since they were not enough people._

_Ashlyn almost declined, but Ali happily agreed. They were sorted into different teams and played against each other. A_ _shlyn tried to impress Ali with a few tricks which worked really well at first._ _But the third trick she tried didn’t go as she hoped. Ashlyn’s legs got tangled and she fell on her butt. Ali tried not to laugh, but failed horribly. She helped Ashlyn up as the others continued playing._

_The game ended with a win from Ali’s team. They decided not to play another game and retreated back to the tree. The girls thanked them and returned to their game._

_“Wow, you have some good soccer skills.” Ashlyn said impressed._

_“Well, I played soccer during high school and on a recreational team in Germany. But I could say the same about you.”_

_“My skills are a bit rusty. It has been a while since I last played.”_

_“Could have fooled me.”_

_Ali looked at Ashlyn sitting next to her and leaned in to give her a kiss._

* * *

_Throughout the afternoon Ashlyn’s cell phone rang a few more times due to calls from Larry, but she decided to ignore it._ _In the early evening they left the park and took a cab back to Ali’s house. Ashlyn told the driver to wait for her._

_Ashlyn walked Ali to the front gate of the house._

_“I had a nice day with you. I haven’t this much fun in a while.” She said._

_“Yeah, same here.” Ashlyn pulled Ali into a hug. Ali laid her head on Ashlyn’s shoulder._ _They fit together perfectly and didn’t want to let each other go._

_“Well I should go.” Ashlyn said after a while. She put her hands on both sides of Ali’s face and slowly leaned in to give her a kiss._

_“Alright. I’ll call you tomorrow.” Ali said and gave Ashlyn another kiss._ _A few minutes later they finally accomplished to say goodbye and Ali watched Ashlyn get into the cab and drive away before she entered the house._

* * *

_When Ashlyn arrived back at the hotel she was welcomed by an angry Larry._

_“What the hell have you been thinking?”_

_Ashlyn didn’t know what he meant._

_“What’s wrong? I enjoyed my free day.” She said as she entered her suite and sat down on the couch to take off her shoes. Larry followed her and put his tablet on the coffee table._

_“I am talking about this.”_

_Ashlyn took the tablet into her hands. It showed a web site with a video from TMZ._

_Reading the headline was all Ashlyn needed to understand his anger._

** ‘Single’ Summer’s wings star taken? **

_Ashlyn clicked the play button._

"Ashlyn Harris, lead singer of the band Summer’s wings, is known for being single. That may have changed now. Earlier today she was seen buying breakfast for two which she shared with a mysterious brunette beauty at the beach."

 

_There were two pictures; the first was of Ashlyn exiting the diner with two coffee cups and a paper bag in her hands and the second was taken at the beach where Ali and Ashlyn enjoyed their breakfast._

 

"When asked about any relationship earlier this week, Harris stated the usual “I am single.”. But the events that happened on the beach this morning show the contrary. Harris was seen in a steamy lip lock with said beauty, which suggests that they are more than good friends. Don’t they look cozy?"

 

_A picture of heir kiss was shown._

_Ashlyn put the tablet back on the table and sighed._

_“This is not the press we need right now. I told you to stop sneaking around and jeopardize this project.” Larry yelled. “Since you didn’t listen to me I will make sure you are not sneaking around anymore.” George, one of the bodyguards entered the room. “George is going to watch you since I don’t have the time to do that.”_

_Larry exited the room and slammed the door shut._

____________________________________________________

_Ashlyn was still speechless and cursed herself for being that careless. Of course they had followed her._  
 _She sighed and looked at George whom she actually was on good terms with._

_Suddenly she remembered Ali and walked into her bedroom to call her._

_“Hey Ash.” Ali was excited to hear Ashlyn so soon after their meet._

_“Sorry to interrupt, but I have some bad news.”_

_“What is it?” Ali asked. She obviously hadn’t seen the article yet._

_“Uhm, we were followed by a paparazzi today and there is an video on the TMZ website. They showed a picture of us kissing.”_

_Ali didn’t say anything._

_“Ali, are you still there?” Ashlyn asked._

_“Yeah, uhm, what do we do now?” Ali asked._

_“To be honest, I don’t want to stop seeing you. But until I can renegotiate my contract, I must be very careful. So meeting in public places cannot happen for now. And my suite in the hotel and your parent’s house are not possible as well, seeing that there are too many people and fans.”_ _Ali was relieved. For a second she had feared that Ashlyn was going to end their fling._

_“Okay. So for now we should just talk on the phone until we can figure out how to meet without any paparazzi following you.”_

_“Basically, yes.” Ashlyn said. “But I will try to find a way, I promise.”_

_Shortly after their talk Ali searched for the video to watch it and see if she was recognizable on the photos. Luckily they were taken from the distance and Ali was only seen from behind._

* * *

_Over the next couple of days they mostly talked on the phone late at night. Since Ashlyn and the band travelled to New York for a gig on a late night show, Ashlyn couldn’t always answer Ali’s texts._

_During their talk on Wednesday Ali had fabulous news._

_“I found an apartment.” She announced._

_“What, so soon?”_

_“Yes, one of Kyle’s neighbors is moving to San Francisco this weekend and is looking for someone to take over his apartment. Kyle already talked to him.”_

_“Wow that sounds awesome.”_

_“Yes. If you want you can come over. I promise there will be no paparazzi.”_

_“I will do that. I already had a talk with George. He totally understands me and has agreed to help me to get out of the hotel unnoticed to meet you.”_

_“I can’t wait to see you again.”_

_“Me, too.”_

* * *

_On the weekend Ali moved into her own apartment with the help of her parents and Kyle._

_When their parents left, Kyle stayed to help Ali unpack the few boxes she had._

_“So, how is it going with Ashlyn?” He casually asked. “I mean I saw the article and this mysterious brunette beauty looked a little bit like you.” Ali blushed._

_“Uhm, it’s good.”_

_“Oh, come on B. You can tell me anything.”_

_“I mean the article was not exactly perfect for Ash because of her contract. But she said that she still wants to see me. And until she can renegotiate it will have to be secretly.”_

_“I hope you know what you are doing. I don’t want you to get hurt. If the press finds out about this, they are going to be all over you, too.”_

* * *

 

 _Before her return to LA the Tuesday after Ali’s move, Ashlyn had made a plan with George. The evening they got back she wanted to surprise Ali and drive to Ali’s apartment to meet her. George was supposed to cover for her in case Larry wanted something._ _Ashlyn snuck out of the hotel with Georges help and took a cab to get to Ali’s place._

 _Ali had prepared for a relaxed evening and was dressed in her favorite sweatpants and t-shirt._ _When she opened the door Ali was surprised to see Ashlyn and immediately pulled her into a hug._

_“Oh my god. What are you doing here?” Ashlyn turned her head to give Ali a kiss on the cheek. Ali noticed that her door was still wide open._

_“Please come in. Do you want something to drink?” she asked as she closed the door._

_“Uhm, yeah, water would be fine.” Ashlyn said and followed Ali into the kitchen._ _Ali quickly filled a glass of water and handed it to Ashlyn._

_“Here you go.”_

_“Thanks.” Ashlyn took a sip, put the water on the counter and leaned into Ali. “I’ve missed you.” She said and leaned forward to give Ali a soft kiss._

_“I’ve missed you, too.” Ali said and brushed over Ashlyn’s cheek. “I am so happy to see you.”_

_“That’s true. Talking on the phone is not the same. And I can’t do this.” Ashlyn smiled and gave Ali another passionate kiss._

_“You haven’t seen the apartment yet. Do want me to show you around?” Ali asked and Ashlyn nodded._ _Ali intertwined her fingers with Ashlyn’s._

_“So this is the kitchen, next door is the living room.” Ali pulled her into the adjoining room._

_“The room behind that door over there is the bathroom. And here…” Ali led Ashlyn to the last door._

_“Oh, my favorite room.” Ashlyn joked which made Ali smile._

_“This is my bedroom.” Ali turned to Ashlyn who looked around. “So do you like it?”_

_“The bedroom or your apartment?”_

_“Duh, the apartment, of course.”_

_“Of course.” Ashlyn replied and winked at Ali. “I love it.”_

_They walked back into the living room and sat down on the couch._

_"So Kyle lives in this building, too?"_

_"Yes. He lives two floors above me. So his apartment looks a little bit different."_

 

_After an hour of talking Ali saw that Ashlyn looked exhausted._

_"How was your day? You look tired."_ _Ashlyn combed with her fingers through her hair._

_"Yeah, the day was pretty tough. We had a photo shoot in the morning and then the flight back to LA. The time difference seems to kick in."_

_"You can stay here, if you want." Ali suggested._

_"I'd love to."_

_Ali got up and pulled Ashlyn up with her. They walked into the bedroom hand in hand. Ali led Ashlyn to the bed and motioned her to sit down. Then she grabbed an extra towel and toothbrush from the drawer and handed it to Ashlyn._

_Ashlyn on the other hand threw the items on the chair next to the dresser, pulled Ali onto her lap and started kissing her passionately. Ali was taken by surprise but didn't object in any way and returned the kiss with the same passion. After some time Ashlyn's hands moved under the hem of Ali's shirt and she brushed over Ali's skin. Ali broke the kiss and looked into Ashlyn's eyes._

_"Sorry. I got carried away. We can stop." Ashlyn withdrew her hands from Ali's waist._

_"No, it's alright." Ali said and led Ashlyn's hands back to her waist. She lifted her arms and let Ashlyn remove her shirt. She put her hand against Ashlyn's chest, pushed her onto the bed and leaned down to kiss her._

_Ashlyn's hands roamed over Ali's back and rested on her butt. With a fluid motion she turned them around. Ali was surprised for one moment and began opening the buttons of Ashlyn's dress shirt in the next moment. Ashlyn was lying between Ali's legs and rested on her forearms. As she leaned on her left side she moved her right hand into Ali's sweatpants._

_She broke the kiss for a second to make sure Ali was comfortable with this next step._ _Ali pulled Ashlyn down by her neck and continued kissing her. Ashlyn took this as a positive sign and continued._


	8. Misused Trust Pt. 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part 2 of the chapter.

 

* * *

 

 _The next morning Ali was woken up as usual by her alarm at 6am. The warmth she felt on her back and the weight around her waist on the other hand was new to her. She turned her head to her left side to see a tattoo covered arm around her waist. She smiled as the events from last night entered her mind._ _Most of the night they had spent exploring each other’s bodies._

 _Ali slowly turned in Ashlyn's arms to face her. The skin against skin contact their bodies made caused Ali's heart rate to increase._ _Ashlyn looked very peaceful and relaxed. In her sleep she unconsciously pulled Ali closer._

_Ali grabbed her phone and took a picture of them. She watched Ashlyn sleep for a few more minutes before she had to get up. Ali quickly showered and got dressed before she prepared some breakfast and coffee. She was too concentrated as she filled two cups with coffee that she didn't notice Ashlyn walking into the kitchen until she hugged her from behind._

_“Good morning.” Ashlyn said as she wrapped her arms around Ali’s waist._

_“Hey, good morning to you, too.” Ali turned in Ashlyn’s arms and wrapped her arms around Ashlyn’s neck. “You looked like you needed the rest and I didn’t want to wake you earlier.”_

_“Well, I thought last night was a dream until I realized that I was still in your bed.” Ashlyn said and gave Ali a small kiss._

_“Last night was amazing. I am happy you stayed.” Ashlyn pushed Ali against the counter and kissed her passionately._

_“Ash.” Ali broke the kiss.  “As much as I would like to continue, but I have to go to work eventually.”_

_“No, just a few more minutes.” Ashlyn pleaded and kept attacking Ali with kisses._

_A few minutes later they stopped._

_“I made some coffee and pancakes, if you want some.” Ali offered._

_“Alright, I might need some nutrition before facing the wrath of Larry, in case he noticed I was gone.”_

* * *

 

 _After breakfast Ashlyn called a cab and they prepared to leave. Ashlyn gave Ali a kiss before she left the house to get into the cab. Shortly after that Ali also left the house._ _When she entered the office Ali greeted Katy with a huge smile on her lips._

 _“Hey, you look happy. Did you have a nice evening?” Ali nodded. “Let me guess, you met your lady friend and had an awesome night together.”_ _Ali smiled even more._

_“Yeah, she was on a business trip and came back yesterday. She surprised me at my new apartment.”_

_“That’s good to hear. Hey if you are interested you could come to dinner some time. My fiancé would love to meet you. If you want you can bring your lady friend.”_

_“Uhm, she is pretty busy, so I’d have to come alone.” Ali said having their conversation in mind._

 

_During her lunch break Ali texted Ashlyn._

**_Ali: Hey, I hope you didn’t get in trouble. I miss you already._ **

****

**_Ashlyn’s answer came a few seconds later._ **

****

**_Ashlyn: No one noticed that I was gone. I miss you, too. Are you at home tonight?_ **

****

**_Ali: I have nothing planned yet. Do you want to come over later?_ **

****

**_Ashlyn: Yes, I miss seeing your face already._ **

**_Ali: I might have the cure for that. Img129.jpg_ **

_Ali added the picture she took that morning._

**_Ashlyn: You look beautiful in that picture ;). I can’t believe I didn’t notice that you took it._ **

**_Ali: You are a heavy sleeper. ;)_ **

****

**_Ashlyn: I have to go. I’ll see you tonight._ **

_Around 8 pm Ashlyn came to Ali’s apartment and they decided to make some dinner together._ _But eventually they had to order a pizza, because their food got burned badly when they were distracted by making out._ _After eating they settled on the couch. Throughout the evening they took pictures of each other._

* * *

 

 

_They spent the next few days similarly. On Saturday morning Ashlyn reluctantly left Ali’s apartment. The band would leave for their tour on Saturday night after their concert in LA. Ashlyn and Ali wouldn’t be able to see each other for four weeks._

_So in the night before they made sure that they would have lots memories of each other._

_Ashlyn was excited to play live again, but it meant to be away from Ali. Although she only knew Ali for 3 weeks, she felt at home every time she spent time with Ali. She wanted to get more serious with Ali and decided to ask Ali to be her girlfriend once she got back from her tour._

_Sitting on a tour bus with lots of people was not the ideal place to talk on the phone. So Ali and Ashlyn mostly texted and sent each other pictures._

* * *

 

**Saturday, Mid-June**

_Two weeks into the tour, the band had an off-day before they played in San Francisco._

_Unlike the others Ashlyn stayed in her hotel room to watch some TV. The sports channel was showing women’s soccer. During the commercial break during halftime Ashlyn grabbed her tablet and checked the news._

_A flashing band at the top of her page caught her attention._

_As soon as Ashlyn read it her stomach turned._

  **“Mysterious brunette: ‘Yes, I slept with Ashlyn Harris’”**

  _For a few seconds Ashlyn remained in a state of shock. She slowly moved her finger to click on the link, hoping that Ali was not the ‘mysterious brunette’._ _As the page loaded her deepest fears verified._

_A picture of Ali and her was on top of the page._

 

A month ago we wondered about Ashlyn Harris’ relationship status, after she was seen kissing a brunette beauty at the beach. Now we have received more information from the involved beauty herself. 

“Yes, Ashlyn and I are indeed seeing each other.” The brunette, named Alexandra Krieger, confirmed in a conversation earlier this week.

_Ashlyn was didn’t even bother to continue reading. Almost all of the pictures were taken when Ashlyn had visited Ali’s apartment._

_Tears began to run down Ashlyn’s face. Never in her life had she felt more betrayed._

_‘How could she do that? I thought she was different.'_

_A knock at Ashlyn’s door pulled her from her thoughts. She opened the door and Larry came storming into her room._

_“So, you have seen the article?” He asked loudly when he saw her tablet lying on the bed._

_“I have to go to LA. I need to talk to her.” Ashlyn said with a certain tone._

_“Well, this is bad press. I told you not to meet her again. I knew that something like this would happen.”_ _Eventually he stopped his lecture and agreed to make travel arrangements for her._

 

 _In the evening Ashlyn arrived at LAX. Since she only had a small shoulder bag with her, Ashlyn left the terminal shortly after her arrival._ _She took a cab to Ali’s apartment._

* * *

 

 

_Ali had been at home the whole day, working on some drafts for work. The doorbell pulled her out of her thoughts. Since Ashlyn was on tour she wondered who it was._

_She opened the door and saw Ashlyn. She was ready to jump into Ashlyn’s arms and kiss her, but as soon as she moved forward Ashlyn stopped her with her hand. The look on Ashlyn’s face frightened Ali. It was something she had never seen on Ashlyn’s face before._

_“Hey, what are you doing here? I thought you were in San Francisco. What’s going on?”_

_"You know exactly what’s going on.”_

_“No, I have no idea. Why don’t you come in and you can tell me what’s wrong.”_

_Ashlyn hesitated shortly before stepping into Ali’s apartment. She stopped in the hallway._

_“Why did you do it? Did they pay you? Or did you do it to get famous?”_

_“What are you talking about? ‘Why’ did I do ‘What’?”_ _Ashlyn pulled a hard copy of the article out of her bag._

_“This. I am talking about this.” Ali took the article and couldn’t believe what she read._

_“No, this is wrong. I never gave them anything or talked to anyone.”_

_“You know, I really thought you were different, Alexandra.” Ashlyn said as she fought against the tears. “But it seems that you are just like everyone else, wrapping me around your finger, just to get a few minutes of fame.”_

_“No, Ash. That’s not true. I have no idea how the press got a hold of those pictures…” Ali started, but Ashlyn cut her off._

_“Yeah, right. You have NO idea. Pictures YOU took with YOUR cell phone. Who else do you think could have sent them to the press? Huh. Even if someone else got a hand on these, it doesn’t explain the interview you gave them!” Ali opened her mouth but couldn’t find any words to explain the situation. Ashlyn was angry. For the first time since the breakup with her girlfriend she had let someone in her life again, only to realize that she had been used._

_“I never want to see you again. Don’t think about contacting me or I’ll call the police.” Ashlyn turned and left Ali’s apartment as quickly as possible and got into the cab that was waiting for her in front of the house to take her back to the airport. Ali was still in shock about what had happened and was unable to move._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't kill me for this ;)  
> Your comments are appreciated.


	9. Desperation and Hope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little filler before the action starts. :)

* * *

 

Ali stood in her hallway for quite some time. Tears were running down her cheeks and her heart ached. She was hurt by the fact that Ashlyn thought she would go behind her back and contact the press about their relationship, that wasn't even official yet.

 

She held the printed article tightly in her left hand. With her left hand Ali wiped away the tears. _'I need to talk to someone.'_ she thought and walked up the stairs to her brother’s apartment.

Ali knocked on the door, but no one answered. As she turned to go back to her own apartment she noticed that she had left her keys inside. Ali dropped to her knees and started sobbing.

 

* * *

 

Ashlyn arrived back in San Francisco late at night. She immediately walked to her room and dropped on her bed. Throughout the flight and cab rides she had managed to hold back her tears, but now the gates opened.

Ali wasn't able to give her any explanation. Ashlyn had told her that she couldn't make their relationship public. Didn't she understand that? Ashlyn was awake for a few more hours until exhaustion kicked in and she fell into a restless slumber.

 

The next morning she was woken up by a few knocks on her door. She slowly rose from bed and scuffled to the door to open it.

 "Hey, where were you last night?" It was Whitney. "Oh, you look like shit. What happened?" She asked when she saw Ashlyn behind the door. Ashlyn's eyes were red from crying most of the night, her hair was a mess and her eyeliner was smudged. In addition she hadn't bothered to change her clothes and was still dressed in the same clothes she wore the day before.

Whitney pushed he door open and entered the room without hesitation.

Ashlyn shrugged her shoulders. Whitney was truly worried about her friend.

"Hey, Ash, you can talk to me. What happened?" Ashlyn exhaled loudly.

"Haven't you heard?" she asked Whitney.

"Heard what?" Whitney was completely oblivious to what Ashlyn meant.

"Ali went to the press about our relationship" Ashlyn said with a monotone voice. Whitney's jaw dropped.

"She did what? Are you sure it was her? I mean..."

"Yeah, the press published private pictures she took of us together. And she even gave them an interview."

"I can't believe it."

"I went to LA to talk to her and ask her why she did it. She lied and said that she didn't do anything. She even pretended that she didn't know about the article."

 

* * *

 

Ali sat at Kyle's door all night. She was leaning against the wall with her arms wrapped around her knees and her head resting on top of her knees. She couldn't really find a comfortable position to sleep in.

Just before lunchtime Kyle finally came home. The smile he had on his face dropped as soon as he noticed Ali. He rushed to his door and kneeled down next to Ali.

"Oh my god, Alex. What happened?" he brushed over his sister’s arms and noticed that she was slightly shivering. "How long have you been sitting here? Come on let's get you inside." He slowly helped Ali up and walked inside with her.

"She ended it." Ali said as she sat down on Kyle's couch.

"Why?" Ali gave him the article she still held in her hands.

Kyle reviewed it quickly and his eyes widened.

"I didn't do anything. I have no clue how the press got those pictures and who pretended to be me in that interview."

"I can understand why Ashlyn might be upset. Why did she end it? I guess you told her that you didn't do it."

"She didn't believe me. She didn't even let me finish. And before she left she said that if I tried to contact her again, she'd call the police." Ali sighed. Kyle remained silent for a few minutes.

"You have to do something about this, B. Talk to a lawyer; they can't just print things without permission."

"That won't change the fact that the story is out there."

"True, no one would believe that these pictures are fake. But it's important that they don't get away with doing stuff like this Listen I am going to call dad, he knows a good lawyer." Kyle said and dialed their parent's home number and put the call on speaker.

 

"Kyle, is Ali with you?" Deb answered the phone. Her voice sounded worried.

"Yeah, she is."

"Thank god. We were trying to call her all evening. Have you seen the article?"

"That's actually why I am calling. We need the number of dad's lawyer."

"Wait a second."  They heard their mother call Ken, who came to the phone.

"Kyle, Ali, is that you?"

"Yes dad." Ali said.

"To be honest, we would have loved a heads-up on this. Syd nearly had a breakdown yesterday."

"I was totally blindsided by this. I have no idea how they got the pictures. That's why Kyle suggested consulting an attorney."

"Sure, I'll look for the contact info."

 

* * *

 

Around noon the band prepared for their concert. Ashlyn tried to be professional, but her mind always drifted back to Ali.

The concert went horrible. She forgot the words to her own songs and missed her cues a few times. Thankfully the fans knew the lyrics by heart and Ashlyn was able to hold the microphone to the crowd when she didn't know what came next.

 

* * *

 

Ali somehow survived the remaining hours of Sunday. She somehow feared going into work and being judged by the others.

As she entered the office on Monday morning everyone seemed to stop their work to watch her walk in. Ali avoided all eye contact and sat down. An hour after she arrived her phone rang.

"Miss Krieger, Mr. Reid would like to see you in his office." The secretary said as soon as Ali picked up the phone.

"Sure, I'll be right in."

Ali awkwardly stood up and walked to her boss' office. She knocked on zhe door and heard a 'Come in' coming from inside the room.

"Mr. Reid, you wanted to see me?"

"Yes, Miss Krieger, close the door please." he said and Ali closed the door after she entered his office.

"I'll get right to the point. The article about your involvement with this particular musician is bad press for the company. Seeing that you are still in probationary period, this is a reason to fire you."

Ali's stomach turned. Was this going to cost her her job?

"Sir, I was completely blindsided by this. Those are private pictures and I did not give them to the press."

Mr. Reid raised his hand to stop Ali.

"Please hear me out. Your work is much appreciated here. Ms. Grant told me that your ideas got us the Sennheiser project. You are very talented and work hard. I'd be a fool to let you go. But still, this is a serious thing." Ali relaxed a little bit. "I convinced the board to keep you, but starting today you will be on suspension for 4 weeks."

Ali somehow felt happy that her boss appreciated her work. On the other hand she wanted to jump into work to forget all of this. A suspension didn't help to so that.

"Thank you, sir. I have already consulted a lawyer to look into this and I am very sorry that the company was put in bad light." Mr. Reid got out of his chair to walk Ali to his office door.

At the door he gave her his hand.

"And just for the record, I didn't believe for a second that you published these pictures. The Alexandra Krieger I met doesn't brag about her accomplishments or relationships."

"Thank you."

"Alright, see me in my office in 4 weeks again." They shook hands and Ali walked back to her desk. Katy had arrived at the office.

"Ali, I heard that you were in the boss' office. What happened?"

"Because of the article the board wanted to fire me, bud Mr. Reid convinced them to only put me on suspension for 4 weeks."

"Do you want to talk about the article?"

"Not really. I am sorry to leave you with all of this. Call me if you have any questions."

 

She packed a few of her personal things into her bag and left the office.

The first stop she made was the lawyer.

 

* * *

 

Ashlyn and the band were on their way to Las Vegas for a concert the next day.

Larry was reading the reviews for the show the day before.

"The press did not like the show.  _'Fans who saw the show last night have been disappointed. For a band that claims to give it all for the fans the performance in last night’s concert was unbelievably bad._ _It was clear that lead singer Ashlyn Harris was the reason with forgetting lyrics and missing cues. She seemed to have other things on her mind, now that her single life seems to be over.'_ Well tomorrow it has to get better. Another bad concert and the story of your 'relationship' will be the least of your worries."

 

Ashlyn rolled her with sunglasses covered eyes, which Larry couldn't see.

The drive to Las Vegas was long and for the first time in weeks Ashlyn was bored. Usually she had texted with Ali, but now she would rather die of boredom.

So Ashlyn sat near the window and watched the world fly by outside.

 

* * *

 

Ali was sitting in the meeting with her lawyer. Luckily he was experienced in dealing with the press.

"From what you have told me, it should be easy to get the press to remove those pictures. It's clear that the copyright to the pictures lies with you, since you have taken them with your phone. But we still need to find out how exactly the pictures got to the press." The lawyer said.

"How can we do that?"

"Well, first of all. I will contact the publisher of the article. Maybe they will tell us where they got the pictures from." Ali was happy to hear that. "But I have to warn you. It's possible that they want to protect their informant and rather pay a fine."

"Can they do that?"

"Unfortunately, yes. The law protects them from revealing their informants, if they don't want to. But there is another option. Is there a possibility that someone might have gotten a hold of your phone to copy the pictures?"

"No, I never left my phone unattended."

"Did you ever give it to someone to make a call?" Ali thought about it. There were a few people whom she had lent her phone to make a call. But she was always with them. "The reason I am asking is simple. Have you heard of spy apps?"

"Yes." Ali said unsure what he aimed at.

"It doesn't take very long to install such an app. The length of a phone call. Someone who turned your back to you while they talked."

"I can't remember anything. There were a few people, friends and colleagues, I gave my phone to make a call. None of them seemed suspicious."

"I understand. I know a specialist who can check your phone for spy apps. And maybe he is able to identify where the information was accessed from."

Ali was hopeful. She agreed and together they called the specialist. He told Ali to come by his office the next day.

 

* * *

 

In the evening Ali decided to visit her parents. They were happy to see her. 

Although Ali had suspected that Syd would hate her, she was unusually nice. 

At dinner Ali told them what had happened at work. 

"They can suspend you just like that?" Deb asked. 

"Actually my boss had to convince the board to not fire me. Compared to that suspension seems like a good deal. And it gives me some time before I have to face the judgmental people at work." Ali explained. 

"That's true." Deb said thinking about Ali's words. 

"So are we going to meet her some time?" Syd suddenly asked. Ali was surprised to hear her and cleared her throat. 

"Uhm, she ended it." Ali said so quietly that the others barely heard her. 

"What? When?" 

"She came to see me on Saturday, after she had seen the article. She didn't even give me a chance to explain and told me that I broke her trust with publishing the pictures and to never call her again." Ali paused for a second. "The thing is that her contract states that officially she has to be single. But she didn't care about that when we met. So she said that we would have to meet secretly until she had the chance to that paragraph in contract erased. I agreed with her and promised to keep the secret about us. She thinks that I have broken that trust." 

Tears started running down her cheeks and Ali hid her face in her hands. Deb moved to pull her daughter in a hug, but was beaten by Syd, who had immediately gotten up and now hugged her sister. 

"Don't be sad. If she doesn't come back to you after you find out who did this, she is not worth it anyway." Syd said and brushed over Ali's head. Ali was surprised by Syd  ’  s action. It was the last thing she had expected to happen. 


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I am finally posting a new chapter.  
> I had some difficulties bringing my thoughts to paper.
> 
> I hope you like it.

* * *

 

As discussed, Ali visited the specialist to get her cell phone checked. It took only a couple seconds before the young man turned to Ali.

"There definitely is some kind pf spy software on there."

Ali was relieved. "Okay, so do you know who did this?"

"I am afraid that it's not that easy. This is not one of the commercial kinds of app. It looks professional. The program protects the user, in this case the person who stole your pictures, by deleting all information about his or her ID." These words felt like a punch in the gut.

The young man had turned to the computer again. "But still, installing such an app without your knowledge is illegal. You might have some luck contacting the software firm. It seems that there is a special ID for your cellphone. They probably have records about all accesses."

He wrote it down on a piece of paper and handed it to Ali.

 

She then thanked him again for helping her. On her way home she made a stop at the lawyer's office.

The secretary remembered her from the day before.

"Mr. Jones will be done in a few minutes, if you want to wait."

"Yes that would be great."

Ali sat down on one of the sofas in the lobby. Ten minutes later her lawyer walked into the lobby with another client and they shook hands. Hos secretary informed him about Ali. He turned around and walked over to the sitting area.

"Good morning, Miss Krieger, any news about the cell phone?"

"Hello. Sadly no." Ali got up and they walked into Mr. Jones' office. "There was no identification saved on the phone. But your specialist gave me the cell phone ID in this app and said that we might have luck by contacting the software firm. Since it was illegally used." She handed him the piece of paper.

"That's what I intended to do. But I had hoped there was an easy way to handle this. These firms are not very cooperative, when it comes to these cases. But I will try anyway."

"Thank you very much."

"Okay, how about I will contact you again, when I know more?"

"Sure." Ali said goodbye and left the office.

 

* * *

 

Ashlyn tried to focus on the preparations for the show.

Suddenly she felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around.

"Hey, are you listening?" Whitney asked her.

"Uhm, yes, I was." Ashlyn lied.

"Sure you were. What's on your mind? Or should I ask who?"

Ashlyn remained silent. "It's just that she hasn't even tried to call me or text me."

"Can you blame her? You practically threatened to call the police of she did."

"Mmh, I might have overreacted, but still she used my trust, I am not the one who has to call first and apologize."

Whitney shook her head. Her friend was for sure very stubborn.

"If you say so."

 

* * *

 

 

Ali arrived at home and felt empty. Although there was a possibility to find the identity of the person responsible for invading her privacy, her lawyer had told her not to have too much hope.

Ali changed into some comfortable clothes and sat down on the couch. She had her phone in her hands and her thumb hovered over Ashlyn’s name in the contact list.

Ali hesitated but pushed the call button a few seconds later.

It rang a few times, before someone picked up.

“Hello?” Ali heard the person on the other line say. It wasn’t Ashlyn, but instead a man’s voice.

“Hello, I would like to talk to Ashlyn. Is she around?” Ali asked politely.

“No she is not available to talk with you, Miss Krieger. In fact, I’d be best if you lost this number and never called again. I am going to let this slide, but the next time there will be a restraining order on you, do you understand?” The man spoke slowly. Tears rushed into Ali’s eyes.

“Y-y-yes.” She was barely able to say.

“Alright. Lose the number.” The man said again and hung up.

Ali burst into tears and threw her phone onto the couch.

It took her over an hour to calm down. Ali thought about her next step. If Ashlyn wanted her to stop contacting her, then she had to tell Ali herself.

Calling again would be too much of a risk. Instead Ali decided on another plan.

She reached across the couch to take her cellphone and sent a text.

 

**Ali: Hey, I need your help. Do you have time to come over after school? – Ali**

 

A few seconds later a reply came.

 

**Syd: Okay, I’ll be at your place around 4pm.**

* * *

 

In the afternoon the doorbell rang and Ali let Syd in.

“Okay, did you know that there are 5 paparazzi downstairs pretending to do something else than waiting for you to come out of this building?” Syd kicked off her shoes.

“Yeah, they have been following me the last two days.” Ali said as they walked into the living room.

“Here I am. What exactly do you want?” Syd crossed her arms.

“I need your unlimited knowledge about ‘Summer’s Wings’.”

“Okay.”

“Please sit down.” Ali said and motioned to the couch. “I tried calling Ashlyn, but some man answered the phone and told me to never call again, if I don’t want to risk a restraining order.There is no way of contacting her that way, so I decided to write her a letter. But I have no idea how to contact her. I haven’t found any mailing address.”

Ali explained and Syd listened carefully.

“Oh, that’s not a problem. I have it right here.” Syd pulled out her phone and searched her memos. “I have sent a couple of letters and the answer usually came within a month.”

“The thing is that my name will probably be on their radar.”

“Yeah, and since we have the same last name, mine will be, too.” Syd continued. “But what if I sent a letter to someone else on the band, with a letter from you inside and ask them to give it to Ashlyn? Maybe they are only monitoring Ashlyn’s mail?”

“Well, it’s worth a try.”

 

The two sisters spent the next couple of hours writing their letter. They decided to write to Whitney, since she was Ashlyn’s best friend.

Syd wrote a long fan letter in her very girly handwriting, while Ali wrote her letter to Ashlyn. She put it in a small envelope and sealed it, before she wrote Ashlyn’s name on the front.

When Syd was done with her letter, they wrapped it around Ali’s envelope and put it into a larger one.

 

It was already 6 pm when they finished and Ali called their parents to tell them that she would be bringing Syd over in a few minutes.

“Thank you, Syd.” Ali said and pulled Syd into a hug.

“No problem, Ali. I really hope that it works.”

“Are you not mad at me anymore, for dating Ashlyn?”

“I was never really mad at you. I mean, it is pretty cool to be able to say that your sister is dating a star. And I am way too young for her anyways.” Syd said and caused Ali to smile.

Ali drove Syd to their parents’ house and stayed over for dinner again.

 

The next morning she brought the letter to the post office and sent it.

 

* * *

 

 

The next couple of days flew by quickly. Ali was anxious to hear from Ashlyn. She was talking to her lawyer on a daily basis, since the tabloids were printing new articles about her every other day.

She was stressed by the paparazzi following her around and avoided to go out any more than necessary.

 

Ashlyn on the other hand was busy with her tour. She avoided reading any tabloids and mostly kept to herself.

2 weeks after Ali’s suspension the band had some time to read fan mail. As usual Ashlyn got most of the letters.

Whitney and Ashlyn sat across from each other in the tour bus and opened the letters.

Occasionally they showed each other some funny letters.

Whitney was almost done and reached for the last letter on the bottom of the box.

“Okay, last one for me today.” She said and received a groan from Ashlyn.

“Urgh, want to help me with mine?”

“Haha, I am so happy to be done.” She said as she opened the letter and reached inside.

“Wow that is a long letter.” Ashlyn said when she saw the amount of pages Whitney held in her hands.

She turned her attention back to her own letters and the autograph pictures she needed to sign.

“Umh, Ashlyn.” Whitney interrupted her once more. “This is for you.”

Ashlyn raised her head. The neat handwriting on the front made her head spin when she recognized it. The first time she had seen this handwriting was when she pulled out a note from her jeans after returning from a visit to Ali’s apartment.

 

She reached for the letter. A few seconds later she got up from her seat and went into the back of the bus to sit on her bunk bed. Ashlyn kicked of her shoes, pulled the curtains closed and switched on the light.

Her heart beat faster as she opened the envelope and pulled out the slip of paper.

Ashlyn slowly unfolded the paper and began reading.

 

 

 

_Ashlyn,_

_I really hope that this letter gets to you. I already tried to call you, but some guy warned me about calling again and threatened me with a restraining order._

_I understand that you are angry about those pictures, but I can assure you that I had nothing to do with it and I never gave them an interview._

_I’d never misuse your trust.  I know that it sounds crazy, but someone bugged my phone and had been accessing all of my pictures and texts. To prove it, I hired a lawyer who is currently trying to find the person that bugged my phone and leaked the pictures._

 

_I am thinking about you every day. Not being able to talk to you has been horrible. The few weeks we were seeing each other, were the best in a long time._

_I miss the way you make me laugh even though I am mad._

_I miss the way you compliment my cooking, even though we both know it’s horrible._

_I miss you lying next to me at night and wrapping your arms around me tightly._

_I miss hearing you whisper my name at night._

_I miss your way of waking me up in the morning._

_I miss how a message from you gives me butterflies._

_I miss how every touch from you makes my skin tingle._

_I miss your lips touching mine._

**_I miss you._ **

 

_I really hope that you believe me and can still see a future for us. If you do, please let me know. Otherwise I will accept your decision and stop contacting you._

_-Alex_

 

 

 After finishing the letter Ashlyn was fighting the tears. Although it sounded crazy, she believed Ali.  _Had Ali really tried to call her? Who had answered her phone?_ Ashlyn’s feelings turned into anger as she realized that there was only one person who would have done that. She wiped away her tears, pulled the curtains back with force and jumped to her feet.


	11. We are over

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can finally update this story after taking a long break. Sorry for taking so long, but I was under a lot of stress with my thesis. But it's done and I have some new ideas for this story.
> 
> Enjoy! :)

Ashlyn stormed to the front of the bus and stopped next to Larry.

“Did you answer my phone when Ali called and told her that you would get a restraining order against her?” she yelled. Larry turned in his seat and looked at Ashlyn.

 

“I only did you a favor. Do I have to remind you that you have a contract? Right now we can spin it the way we want. Your heart being broken by a crazy girl who only wanted to be famous.”

 

Ashlyn blood was boiling. “Stop talking about her like that! She didn’t do anything. In fact someone accessed her phone with a spy app and you better not be involved in this.” Ashlyn said and turned around to go back to her seat.

 

“Or what? Did you forget who got you where you are now? Do you really think that you would have made it without me? In fact without me you’d be lucky to still be living in that dump with your slutty girlfriend…” That was enough for Ashlyn. She spun around using the momentum to punch Larry in the face.

 

“Don’t talk about Julia like that. She is good person.” She yelled. Everyone in the bus was now watching the scene. Larry held his face where Ashlyn’s fist had connected with his face.

“You know what? After this tour we are over.” Ashlyn added and turned to go back to her bunk bed.

 

Ashlyn jumped on her bed and closed the curtains. Her right hand was hurting from hitting Larry. She massaged her hand trying to ease the pain, but it didn’t work. The last thing she needed right now was a broken hand.

 

A few moments later the curtains were drawn back. At first Ashlyn thought it was Larry, but she immediately relaxed when Whitney’s face appeared behind the curtain.

“Hey. Do you want to talk?” Whitney asked.

Ashlyn remained silent, her eyes watering up. Whitney sat down on Ash’s bed and pulled her into a hug.

“Talk to me. What did Ali write?”

After a few moments Ashlyn had collected herself.

“She wrote that she has no idea who published the photos and contacted a lawyer to take legal action against whoever did this.” Ashlyn explained. “She tried to call me, but Larry answered my cell phone during sound check and threatened to get a restraining order if she called again.”

Ashlyn buried her face in her hands and winced at the pain in her right hand.

Whitney’s attention turned to Ash’s hand.

“This doesn’t look good.” She took Ash’s hand to examine it closer. “Well, better than Larry’s face. You gave him a shiner”

“He deserved it. He was talking bad about Ali and Julia.” Ashlyn said.

After a few moments of silence Ash sighed.

“I really need to talk to Ali.” She finally said.

 

 

* * *

 

 

At the same time Ali walked into her brother’s salon. They ate lunch together three times a week, since Ali was still on suspension for another two weeks. The paparazzi were still following her, but there were less of them and by now Ali knew how they looked. They weren’t exactly subtle.

 

When Ali entered the salon Kyle greeted her and gave her a huge hug.

“Hey, sis. What do have gotten us today?” He asked as he peeked into the plastic bag. “Ooh. Chinese. Again.” It was the fifth time in two weeks that they had Chinese for lunch.

 

“Yeah, I hope you like it. That restaurant is pretty much the only one where the people don’t stare at me. Or are at least polite enough not to let me notice.” Ali said as they walked into the break room in the back. Right after her suspension she had gotten something from her favorite Italian restaurant. The people eating there recognized her immediately and started taking pictures with their phones. Ali had left the place right after her lunch was ready. She tried a few places, but the Chinese restaurant was the only one where she felt comfortable.

 

“Don’t worry, Al.” They ate in silence. Kyle knew that his sister was stressed by the constant recognition and the paparazzi following her. Her lawyer didn’t have much news and talking about Ashlyn or her job was the last thing Ali wanted.

 

After they finished eating they talked about their dad’s upcoming birthday and possible gifts from the two of them. They decided to go gift shopping together, since Kyle didn’t have any customers scheduled for the afternoon.

 

As they were crossing the street they were deep in conversation and didn’t notice the fast approaching car. In the last second Kyle finally saw the car and tried to push Ali out of the way - unsuccessfully.

Ali was hit and flew through the air before hitting the ground. The car was speeding off. The people around stopped in their tracks and soon a cluster of people formed. Kyle was at Ali’s side within seconds. She was bleeding and unconscious.

 

One of the people around kneeled next to Kyle and was talking on his phone.

“Hello, there was a hit and run with a car and a pedestrian on Melrose Ave, corner of N Orlando Ave. The woman that was hit is unconscious and has a severe head wound as well as a fractured left leg.” The man put his cell phone away. “The ambulance is coming shortly. We have to make sure she keeps breathing.”

 

Within minutes the ambulance was there and the paramedics tended to Ali. She was loaded into the ambulance and Kyle was allowed to go with her.

 

At the hospital Ali was rushed to the trauma area and the doctors told Kyle to wait. A ringing in Ali’s purse caught his attention. He looked for the cell phone and when he saw the caller ID he frowned and picked up.

  
“Hello?” he asked.

“Hey, it’s Ashlyn. Is Ali around?”

“Uhm, she can’t come to the phone. Ali is in the hospital. She had an accident.”


	12. Chapter 12

**Near future**

_Beep_

_Beep_

_Beep_

_“The machines are the only thing that is keeping her alive. Have you ever talked with her about organ donation?” the doctor asked._

 

**Present**

 

An hour after Ali was brought to the hospital her parents and Syd arrived and rushed to Kyle.

He updated them on Ali’s status, although there wasn’t much to tell.

“How did this happen?” Deb asked.

“We had lunch and decided to go gift shopping for dad’s birthday together. As we were crossing the road a car came straight at us. I tried to push Ali out of the way but it was too late.” Kyle started sobbing and Deb pulled her oldest into a hug.

“It’s not your fault. There was nothing you could have done.”

 

* * *

 

Whitney was worried when her friend suddenly got pale. Ashlyn ended the call and dropped her phone on her bunk bed.

“What’s wrong, Ash? What happened?”

“It’s Ali. She got into a hit and run and is on her way to the hospital. Kyle said it didn’t look very good.”

“Oh my god. That’s terrible.” Whitney was shocked.

“I have to get there tonight. I have to tell her that I believe her and that I love her.”

Ashlyn placed her weight on her injured hand as she tried to get up. But she yelped in pain and fell back onto the bed when she pulled her hand away from under her.

“Ow. That hurts.” She said. Whitney took the hand into hers.

“Looks like you need a doctor as well. You for sure can’t play your guitar with it. Larry’s not going to like it.”

“I don’t care.”

The bus stopped shortly after at their destination. They were supposed to have a concert the next day in Cleveland.

Whitney accompanied Ashlyn when she told Larry that her hand was injured and she was unable to play the next few concerts.

As expected Larry was furious but due to his own share of pain he didn’t yell.

Then Ashlyn was brought to the hospital to get her hand checked out. It was indeed broken and Ashlyn had to keep her hand still for at least 3 weeks.

Larry had calmed down when Ashlyn got back from the hospital and got to work. He started rescheduling the concerts for the next few weeks, because having a lead singer/guitarist who couldn’t play the guitar was not possible for a successful tour.

The official story was that Ash tripped and broke her hand while buffering her fall. The hospital staff that tended to Ashlyn had to sign confidentiality contracts with a high penalty to keep them quiet.

 

The band was given some off time and was allowed to fly home.

Ashlyn booked the first flight to LA she could find.

 

* * *

 

Kyle, Deb, Ken and Syd were sitting in the waiting area for a few hours. Every now and then a nurse would come to give them a short update. Ali’s surgery took quite some time.

 

 After five hours the surgeon came to see them and tell them that Ali was out of surgery.

“Relatives of Alexandra Krieger?” he simply asked. Kyle and Deb jumped up immediately and nodded heavily.

 

“Yes, we are.”

 

“Alexandra is out of surgery. She suffered severe inner and head injuries as well as a broken left leg and torn ligaments in her knee. We put her into a coma to help her body heal and we will keep her under until at least 24 hours. She is not out of the woods yet, we will have to wait until she wakes up.” The doctor explained.

 

“Can we see her?” Deb asked.               

 

“She is in the ICU, so I would ask you to see her with only two people at a time. I’ll show you the way.”

The doctor brought them to the ICU and showed them the room.

They could see Ali through the blinds of the windows. A tube was sticking out of her mouth and her head was bandaged. Kyle and Deb went in first to see Ali.

                                                                                           

 

* * *

Ashlyn arrived in LA late in the evening. After getting her suitcase she was greeted by some journalists who asked her about the cancelled tour.

 

 “Ashlyn, what can you tell your fans that were so excited to see you and now have to wait another few weeks?” the first journalist asked.

 

“I am very sorry about this. But we are doing something special for the fans to make up for the inconvenience.” Ashlyn answered professionally while walking to the cabs.

 

“Ashlyn, how’s the hand?” Ashlyn had reached the cabs.

 

“It itches like hell. I have no idea how I will survive a cast for the next few weeks.” On the flight her hand had started itching  and she had tried to scratch it with a pencil, but was unable to reach the itch.

 

“Did you really just trip or was it something else that caused the injury?” Another journalist asked while she was handed her bag to the cabbie.

 

“Clumsy me. I missed the last step while getting off the bus and fell onto the pavement. I don’t recommend doing that. Hurt like hell.” She said and got into the cab.

 

The cameras clicked a few more times.

“To the Beverly Hills Hotel, please.” Ashlyn told the cabbie who left immediately.

 

When she arrived at the hotel, she quickly checked in and left the lobby almost immediately. The desk clerk had assured her that her luggage would be brought to her room. The cab was still waiting in front of the hotel and Ashlyn told the cabbie to drive her to the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.

 

It was almost midnight when Ashlyn arrived. She rushed into the main entrance and stopped at the reception.

 

“How can I help you?” The desk clerk asked her.

 

“I am looking for Ali Krieger, she was brought in earlier today after a car accident.”

 

“Are you family?” The woman at the front desk asked her.

 

“I am her girl----“ Ashlyn stopped. She had no idea, how Ali would feel with her being there. “I am her friend.”

 

“Visitation hours are over. I have to ask you to come back tomorrow.”

 

“Listen. I heard about her accident and took the first flight I could get from Cleveland. I have to see her and make sure she is ok.”

 

“I am sorry but these are the regulations. Only immediate family is allowed. Other visitors have to come during visitation.” The lady explained and sensed Ashlyn’s desperation. “I am very sorry.”

 

“Sure.” Ashlyn sighed and turned away.

 

“Miss Harris?” She heard someone say her name and turned into the direction. It was Ken Krieger. He was carrying some coffee and sandwiches from the cafeteria.

“You came to see my daughter?” Ashlyn walked towards him.

“Yes, Mr. Krieger. I tried to call her shortly after her accident and Kyle told me what had happened.

I took the first flight I could get.” Ashlyn explained.

 

Ken motioned for her to come with him. Together they walked to the elevator.

“How is she doing?” Ashlyn asked as they rode the elevator to the fifth floor.

“Not so good. They put her into a coma to help her heal. And they have tubes to help her breathe.”

As they exited the elevator, Ken held Ashlyn back.

 

“Listen, before we go in there I want you to know one thing. Alex is my little girl. I will protect her as best I can. I know that she likes you a lot. After everything that happened she still couldn’t stop talking about you. So I really hope that you are serious about her. Because I don’t care who you are and what connections you might have. If you break her heart like this again, I will make your life miserable.”

 

Ashlyn took a few seconds to process Ken’s words before she answered.

“I screwed up big time and trusted the wrong people. I am in the process to cut connections with them to keep something like that from happening again. Ali means the world to me. I can promise you that I will do everything that I can to protect her.” Ashlyn said calmly.

 

Ken nodded contentedly and motioned for them to keep walking. When they reached the room Kyle exited the room and looked surprised at the blonde.

“Ashlyn? What are you doing here?”

“I came as soon as I could. May I see her?” Ashlyn asked.

Ken nodded. “I just grabbed something to eat for Kyle and me. And food is not allowed in there. So, go in.”

 

Ashlyn thanked them and slowly walked to the door. The nurse gave her a robe and helped her get it over her cast.

Ashlyn sat down on the chair next to the bed. “Hey, Alex. It’s me.” She took Ali’s hand into her own.

“I am sorry that I didn’t believe you. I made the biggest mistake ever. And I hope that you can forgive me.”


End file.
